THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG; 


OR, 


HEALTH    MAXIMS,  PHYSICAL,   MENTAL, 
AND   MORAL. 


BY 


W.  W.  HALL,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

AUTHOR   OF   "  HEALTH    BY   GOOD   LIVING,"    "  BRONCHITIS   AND    KINDRED 

DISEASES,"    "  HEALTH    AT   HOME,"    "  HALLOS   JOURNAL   OF 

HEALTH,"    ETC.,   ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  KURD  AND  HOUGHTON. 


1875- 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1875,  by 

W.  W.  HALL, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


RIVERSIDE,  CAMBRIDGE: 

STEREOTYPED  AND  PRINTED  BY 

H.  O.  HOUGHTON  AND  COMPANY. 


Lib 


PREFACE. 


To  live  long,  is  to  live  well,  by  eating  and 
drinking  abundantly  of  "  all  the  good  things  of 
this  life "  in  their  season,  in  their  freshness,  in 
their  perfection  ;  not  only  of  the  fruits  of  the 
orchard,  the  vegetables  of  the  garden,  and  the 
grains  of  the  field,  but  of  the  birds  of  the  air,  the 
fish  of  the  sea,  and  "  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills  ; "  by  gathering  about  us  the  comforts,  con- 
veniences, and  luxuries  of  life ;  by  cultivating  the 
higher  tastes  of  our  nature  ;  by  cherishing  the 
affections  and  by  the  promotion  of  all  that  inno- 
cently enlivens,  exhilarates,  delights,  and  enrap- 
tures. 

How  to  do  these  things  in  such  a  way  as  to  pre- 
serve and  promote  the  highest  health  and  thus 
double  their  value,  is  the  object  of  this  book.  The 
aim  is  to  make  the  lessons  short,  concise,  specific, 
and  to  the  point,  in  the  fewest  possible  words,  to 
compel  the  reading  of  them  and  so  impress  them 
on  the  mind  by  fact  and  warning  and  incident  and 
example  and  anecdote,  that  they  cannot  be  forgot- 
ten in  a  life-time. 


IV  PREFACE. 

It  is  intended  also  in  the  same  way  to  commu- 
nicate some  generally  accepted  principles  in  their 
application  to  the  preservation  of  health,  and  the 
cure  of  disease  without  medicine,  in  short  phrase, 
few  words,  and  disconnected  sentences ;  to  be 
taken  up  and  laid  down  at  a  moment's  notice,  on 
steamship,  tramway,  packet,  or  rail-car,  at  such 
odds  and  ends  of  time  as  fall  to  the  lot  of  travellers 
and  others,  which  else  might  not  be  appropriated 
so  usefully,  because  in  this  age  of  restlessness  and 
hurry  the  care  of  the  health,  like  the  search  for 
religion,  is  considered  one  of  the  things  which  can 
be  dispensed  with,  until  a  more  convenient  season 
in  the  future.  It  is  hoped  that  some  who  would 
not  spend  the  time  to  hear  a  lecture  or  read  a 
book  may  be  enticed  to  peruse  a  paragraph  now 
and  then  in  reference  to  the  care  of  the  body, 
which,  in  being  put  into  practice,  may  have  an 
important  bearing  in  the  prolongation  of  life  ; 
thus  teaching  the  reader 

"  How  To  LIVE  LONG." 


HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 


HEALTH   IS  A   DUTY. 

1.  One  of  the  happiest  and  most  independent 
of  all  human  occupations  is  that  of  an  intelligent 
farmer,  whose  land  is  paid  for,  and  who  keeps  out 
of  debt. 

2.  The  fascination  of  salaried  positions  is  but 
too  often  the  fascination  of  a  serpent  which  be- 
guiles but  to  destroy. 

3.  Be  your  own  master  and  master  of  your  call- 
ing, and  you  will  soon  become  the  master  of  others. 

4.  Next  to  religion,  there  is  no  element  so  es- 
sential to  success  in  life,  as  vigorous,  robust  health. 

5.  A  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  is  a  fitting 
foundation  for  all  that  is  high  and  noble  in  human 
achievement. 

6.  The  safest  and  best  remedies  in  the  world  are 
warmth,  rest,  and  abstinence,  —  the  brutes  empoly 
these. 

7.  Physical,  mental,  and  moral  health  are  inter- 
dependents,  hence  what  improves  or  promotes  one, 
improves  and  promotes  the  others. 


6  HO W  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

8.  Almost   all   feel   gratified   at   every  pound's 
increase  in  weight,  as   if   people  like   pigs   were 
measured  by  fat. 

9.  To  live  well  is  a  glory,  to  die  well  is  a  bliss. 

10.  A  wise  care  of  the  health  in  youth  is  the 
best  assurance  of  a  long  life,  as   an  early  atten- 
tion to  religion  is  the  foundation  of  an  immortal 
existence. 

11.  That  man  lives  the  longest  who  does  the 
most  good. 

12.  He  brings  the  most   happiness  to  himself 
who  does  most  to  promote  the  happiness  of  others. 

13.  In  one's  last  sickness,  there  is  no  solid  en- 
joyment except  in  the  consolations  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion. 

14.  The  most  healthful  form  of  exercise  is  that 
which  involves  exhilarating  out-door  activities. 

15.  The   youth  becomes  a    man,  the  very  day 
he  begins  to  feel  uneasy  at  the  idea  of  being  de- 
pendent on  another. 

1 6.  That  old  man  !    what   disappointments  he 
has  encountered  in  his  long  journey,  what  bright 
hopes  blasted,  what  sorrows  felt,  what  agonies  en- 
dured, how  many  loved  ones  he  has  covered  up  in 
the   grave.     And   that  old  woman  too  !  husband 
dead,  children  all  buried  or  far  away,  life's  flowers 
faded,  the  friends  of  her  youth  no  more,  and  she 
waiting  to  go  soon.     Ought  we  ever  miss  an  op- 
portunity of    showing   attention   to  the   aged,   of 
proffering  a  kindness,  or  lighting  up  a  smile,  by  a 
courteous  act  or  a  friendly  deed  ? 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  7 

1 7.  Delicious  sleep  comes  of tenest  to  the  young 
and  the  day  laborer. 

1 8.  A  cheerful  disposition  is  the  sunshine  of 
the  soul. 

19.  The  mental  states  have  a  more  controlling 
influence  over  the  bodily  condition  than  most  per- 
sons imagine. 

20.  There  is  no  better  way,  no  safer  way,  no 
easier  way,  no  surer  way  of  saving  children  from 
the  debasing  influences  of  the  street,  from  cor- 
rupting associations,  and  from  the  acquisition  of 
vicious  and  hurtful  practices,  than  to  make  home 
attractive. 

21.  The  education  of  the  young  should  properly 
commence   with   the    grandmother,   for   it   takes 
about  two  generations  to  eliminate  the  plebeian 
from  the  character  and  constitution. 

22.  Cold  is  the  greatest  enemy  of  old  age. 

23.  Ventilation  is  perfect  in  proportion  as  the 
air  of  an  apartment  is  kept  equal  in  purity  to  that 
of  the  external  atmosphere.     This  is  best  done  in 
private  dwellings  by  having  an  open  fire-place. 

24.  Nature  is  very  much  like  a  shiftless  child, 
who,  the  more  he  is  helped  the  more  he  looks  for 
it.     The  more  medicine  a  man  takes  the  more  he 
will  have  to  take,  whether  it  be  anodyne,  tonic,  or 
alterative. 

25.  The    thinnest    veil    or    silk    handkerchief 
thrown    over   the  face   while   riding   or   walking 
against  a  cold  wind  is  a  remarkably  comfortable 
protection. 


8  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

26.  When  alcohol  was  first  introduced  into  the 
world  in  its  concentrated  form,  about  the  year  one 
thousand,  it  was  called  "  Aqua  Vitae,"  the  water  of 
life,  the  great  catholicon  for  human  maladies,  but 
it  soon  became  the  "  Aqua  Mortis,"  the  water  of 
death,   the   source   of  mortal   woes    incalculable, 
hence  the  curious  lines  :  — 

"  Is  '  Aqua '  alcohol  ? 
Yes,  aquafortis  ; 
'  Aqua  vitae  '  once, 
Now  '  Aqua  Mortis.' " 

27.  Many  men  with  a  Bible,  a  Concordance,  a 
Hymn  Book,  and  vigorous  health,  become  more 
efficient  ministers  of  the  gospel  than  others  who, 
with  the  advantage  of  splendid  libraries,  and  the 
disadvantage  of  being  sickly,  have  been  but  cum- 
berers  of  the  ground. 

28.  To  sleep  well,  a  man  must  work  hard. 

29.  If  thrown  into  the  water  and  the  strength 
is  failing,  turn  on  the  back  with  only  the  nose  and 
toes  out  of  the  water,  hands  downward  and  clasped. 
This  should  be  practiced  while  learning  to  swim, 
as  a  means  of  resting  from  great  fatigue  in  swim- 
ming. 

30.  We  shrink  with  horror  at  the  thought  that 
we,  our  wives  or  our  children,  may  possibly  die  in 
a  mad-house,  and  yet  it  can  be  made  impossible 
by  a  reasonable  attention  to  the  laws  of  life  and 
health  and  by  an  active,  stirring  life. 

31.  Exercise  to  the  extent  of  great  fatigue,  does 
more  harm  than  good. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  $ 

32.  Never  sit  or  stand  with  the  wind  blowing 
on  you  for  a  single  moment,  for  it  speedily  pro- 
duces a  chill,  to  be  followed  with  a  fever  and  then 
a  bad  cold. 

33.  A    hearty   meal,   taken    while    excessively 
fatigued,  has  often  destroyed  life. 

34.  Health  and  good  nature  are  generally  asso- 
ciated. 

35.  On  a  freezing  winter  morning,  to  enter  a 
warm  breakfast  room,  with   a  blazing  fire  and  a 
snow-white  table  covering,  with  cheery  faces  all 
around  giving  hearty  welcome,  is  one  of  the  many 
domestic  felicities  of  a  happy  marriage. 

36.  The  "  sands  of  life  "  are  yielded  by  the  food 
we  eat  and  the  water  we  drink ;  they  constitute 
the  foundation  of  the  nails  and  hair  and  the  scales 
of  the  skin,  for  we  are  all  a  scaly  people,  differing 
from  the  fish  only  that  ours  are  smaller,  and  of 
variable  quantities  —  morally. 

37.  Water  is  by  much  the  largest  constituent 
of  our  frames,  used  to  render  the  other  more  solid 
portions  plastic  ;  but  all  decay  and   die,  having 
been  but  the  caaket  of  the  soul,  destined  for  im- 
mortality and  eternal  life. 

38.  Cleanliness,   in   all   the   surroundings  of   a 
family  mansion,  pays  richly  in  many  ways,  in  good 
health,  moral  elevation,  personal  comfort,  and  dol- 
lars and  cents  besides. 

39.  The  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  save 
trouble,  save  labor,  economize  time,  and  add  to  our 
happiness  generally. 


IO  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

40.  A  sour  look,  an  impatient  gesture,  a  cross 
word  at  the  breakfast  table  is  enough  to  make  the 
best  food  indigestible  and  spoil  a  day. 

41.  Chilliness  of  body  dampens  the  spirits,  sours 
the  temper,  and  renders  the  whole  man  unlovely. 

42.  The   ashes   of    the   cremated    Lady   Dilke 
weighed  just  six  pounds ;  so  that,    after  all,  our 
bodies  are  made  up  of  a  few  pailfuls  of  water  and 
a  little  dust. 

43.  Life  is  warmth,  growth,  repair,  and  power 
to  labor,  and  all  these  are  derived  from  the  food 
we  eat  and  the  fluids  we  drink,  and  these  should 
be  good. 

44.  At  every  period  of  life,  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  from  the  tropics  to  the  poles,  in  every 
clime  and  country,  the  temperature  of  the  human 
body  in  health  is  the  same  to  a  degree,  that  is, 
ninety-eight  of  Fahrenheit ;  hence  we  should  eat 
in  winter  mainly  of  warming  food,  such  as  meats, 
fats,   oils,  sugar,  and  all  the  grains,  farinas,  and 
starches  ;  in  summer,  the  fruits  and  berries,  and 
melons  and  vegetables  of  the  field,  the  garden  and 
the  orchard,  which  cool  and  open,  and  ventilate 
the  system. 

45.  The  metals  are  dissolved  by  the  rains  and 
feed  the  plants,  they  in  turn  feed  the  animals,  and 
they  in  turn  sustain  man,  in  order  to  fit  him  for 
the  duties  of  time  and  the  rewards  of  an  immor- 
tal existence. 

46.  A  generous  nature  never  hurts  the  feelings 
intentionally. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  II 

47.  Little  do  the  young  and  vigorous  know  how 
the  old  appreciate  those  delicate  attentions  which 
they  so   often   need   in   the  journey  of  life,  and 
which  it  costs  so  little  to  bestow,  how  it  cheers 
their  hearts  and  lifts  them  up  with  a  delighting 
thankfulness ! 

48.  A  good  laugh  is  anti-dyspeptic. 

49.  As  argument  in  the  presence  of  third  per- 
sons quickly  degenerates  into  the  ignoble  ambition 
of  victory,  rather  than  conviction  or  instruction, 
and  is  unprofitable,  so  is  reproof,  except  when  the 
two  are  alone  ;  else  the    admonition  is  received 
with  impatience,  indignation,  or  revenge. 

50.  To  remind  of  a  favor  is  not  kind  ;  to  speak 
of  it  offensively,  more  than  cancels  the  obligation. 

51.  To  leave  the  best  for  others  is  generous,  to 
select  the  best  for  one's  self  is  the  meanest  of  all 
traits. 

52.  The    "gentleman"    is    magnanimous,    the 
"lady"  is  serene. 

53.  The  portion  of   the  body  which   most   re- 
quires  protection  against  cold  and  wind,  is  that 
between  the  shoulder-blades  behind,  as  it  is  at  this 
point  the  lungs  are  attached  to  the  body,  and  the 
blood  is  easily  chilled. 

54.  To  spend  two  or  three  moments,  on  rising 
and  retiring,  in  rapid  friction  of  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  body  with  the  hand,  is  a  more  rational 
treatment  of  the  skin,  and  a  more  health  promot- 
ing operation,  for  most  persons,  than  a  daily  cold 
water  bath. 


12  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

55.  The  wisest  men  are  those  who  aim  to  live 
in  such  a  way  as  to  grow  old  without  aches  or 
pains. 

56.  No  rational  mind  can  fail  to  see  that  it  is  a 
wisdom  and  a  duty  to  guard  against  the  causes, 
and  watch   vigilantly  against   the   indications    of 
such  diseases  as  dyspepsia,  which  often  so  influ- 
ences the  mind  as  to  subvert  the  whole  character, 
making  a  wreck  of  happiness,  heart,  and  life  to- 
gether. 

57:  The  worst  cold  may  be  promptly  cured  if, 
within  twenty-four  hours  after  it  has  been  taken, 
the  patient  will  keep  warm  in  bed,  and  eat  little  or 
nothing  for  a  day  or  two. 

58.  More  than  one  fourth  of  all  the  inmates  of 
insane  asylums  are  from  the  families  of  farmers 
and  merchants ;  from  the  former,  because  the 
wives  are  overworked,  and  the  husbands  lack 
mental  culture  and  variety  of  occupation,  having 
little  to  stimulate  to  mental  activities,  and  a  scant 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  health.  From  the  latter 
in  consequence  of  the  reverses  of  mercantile  life. 
Merchants'  families,  all  over  the  United  States, 
are  among  the  higher  classes,  and  when  they  be- 
come bankrupt,  the  mind  fails  in  the  attempt  to 
grapple  with  the  difficulties  and  mortifications  of 
their  changed  condition,  and  being  without  the 
means  to  start  again  in  business,  and  without  a 
trade  to  compel  a  support,  they  soon  fall  into 
despondency  and  discouragement,  and  the  mind 
topples  over. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  13 

59.  A  good  cleansing  of  the  entire  body  with 
soap  and  warm  water  once  a  week,  is  all  the  bath- 
ing  the  human  system  requires  for   purposes  of 
health,  in  ordinary  circumstances. 

60.  Never   sit  with   the   back  to  a  window  or 
door,  even  if  closed,  for  the  air  coming  in  at  crack 
and  crevice  will  certainly  give  a  cold. 

61.  It  is  not  healthy  in  any  country,  at  any  sea- 
son of  the  year,  or  at  any  time  of  life,  to  get  up 
early,  habitually  :  the  old  are  better  rested  by  lying 
late,  even  if  not  asleep,  while  the  young  require  all 
the  sleep  they  can  get.     In  all  latitudes,  in  warm 
weather,    the   morning   air,  although  feeling  cool 
and  fresh,  is  laden  with  the  pestiferous  miasma. 
In  winter  the  atmosphere,  before  breakfast,  is  so 
cold  and  chilly  and  searching,  that  it  fairly  shrivels 
up  man  and   beast,  chilling  to  the  very  marrow- 
bone  sometimes  ;  hence  the  average  duration  of 
human  life  would  be  increased,  and  the  amount  of 
sickness  largely  diminished,  by  late,  rather  than 
early  rising,  as  all  the  older  nations  full  well  know 
and  practice. 

62.  In  going  out  into  a   colder   air,   keep   the 
mouth  resolutely  closed,  and  walk   briskly  for  a 
few  moments,  thus  preventing  chilliness,  which  is 
always  the  percursor  of  a  cold. 

63.  As  between  husband  and  wife,  that  is  the 
nobler  spirit  which,  in  difference  of  opinion,  most 
readily  and  immediately  yields  the  privilege  of  the 
last  word  to  the  other  party. 


14  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

64.  All  "  bitters  "  offered  for  sale  contain  alco- 
hol.    Many  take  them  in   the   place  of   brandy, 
whiskey,  rum,  and  other  forms  of  spirits,  persuad- 
ing themselves  that  they  are  reforming  as  to  their 
beverages.     Some    bitters   have  more   alcohol  in 
them  than  whiskey  or  brandy.    The  State  Assayer 
of  New  York  recently  published  a  statement  of 
the  analysis  of  various  bitters  ;  that  Vinegar  Bit- 
ters contains  as  much  alcohol  as  many  kinds  of 
wine  and  about  double  the  amount  contained  in 
various  brands  of  ale.     Taking  bitters  of  the  mild- 
est kind  is  the  first  step  towards  habitual  drunk- 
enness. 

65.  More  women   than  men  recover  at  insane 
asylums,  first,  because  they  have  rest ;  second,  in- 
door life  is  not  so  wearing  to  them,  being  more 
accustomed  to  it. 

66.  In  a  closed  sleeping  apartment  the  atmos- 
phere becomes  more  contaminated  every  minute, 
because  carbonic  acid  gas,  a  deadly  poison,  is  gen- 
erated in  the  lungs  and  is  expired  at  each  breath, 
and  combining  with  the  moisture  it  is  heavier  than 
the  common  air  and  settles  near  the  floor  ;  hence, 
the  last  thing  a  man  should  sell  is  his  bedstead  • 
but  in  reality  it  is  considered  by  the  ignorant  and 
unfortunate  poor  as  the  most  dispensable  thing  in 
the  house,  hence  sickness  is  soon  added  to  their 
poverty,  a  most  unhappy  combination. 

67.  Nine-tenths  of  the  inmates  of  insane  asylums 
who  recover,  are  those  who  were  sent  within  a  year 
after  the  first  manifestation  of  their  infirmity. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  I  5 

68.  Divorce,  neglect  of  marriage,  and  the  pre- 
vention of  offspring,  are  crimes  against  society, 
against  humanity  and  against  the  great  Creator  of 
us  all,  and  the  only  efficient  method  of  preventing 
these  increasing  and  mischievous  practices,  is  in 
becoming  more  imbued  with  the  principles  incul- 
cated in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments, to  be  begun  even  before  the  child  has 
learned  his  A  B  C,  by  reading  to  them  the  historical 
portions  of  the  Bible  in  short  lessons  and  in  short 
explanations,  all  the  while  aiming  to  impress  upon 
the  mind  and  the  heart  the  habit  of  receiving  with 
implicit  confidence,  faith,  and  affection,  every  state- 
ment of  the  Holy  Book,  as  an  assertion  of  the  Cre- 
ator himself,  without  the  most  remote  thought  of 
calling  in  question  the  truth  of  one  single  fact  or 
word.    Then  will  none  want  to  go  any  further  than 
to  read  His  command,  "  multiply  and  replenish  ;  " 
that  there  is  no  other  sufficient  cause  for  divorce 
than  adultery  ;  and  that  whoever  seeks  to  baffle 
the  Omnipotent,  to  circumvent  Him  in  the  opera- 
tion of  such  physiological  laws  as  He  has  created, 
will  be  found,  in  the  end,  to  be  ruining  both  body 
and  soul  for  time  and  for  eternity. 

69.  The  best  anodyne  in  all  nature,  is  moderate, 
steady,  and  continuous  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

70.  There  are  not  a  few  maladies  of  mind  and 
body  which  would  rapidly  disappear  on  embarking 
in  a  successful  pecuniary  enterprise,  or  on  being 
promoted  to  a  position   of  ease,  distinction,  and 
power. 


1 6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

71.  Loyola,  whose  fame  became  world-wide,  and 
who  wielded  an  influence  and  a  power  scarcely  in- 
ferior to  any  prince  or  potentate  of  his  time,  re- 
quired that  all  his  emissaries  should  be  men  who 
were  in  the  prime  of  life,  of  good  presence,  agree- 
able  manners,   and.  last   but  not   least,   vigorous 
health,  as  essential  to  the  highest  success  and  to 
grand  achievements. 

72.  Lean  people  putlive  the  fat. 

73.  It  is  a  mistake  in  public  speakers  to  begin 
in  a  loud  tone,  because  it  cannot  be  sustained,  a 
spiteful  cough  will  interpose  ;  by  beginning  in  a 
low  tone  and  gradually  warming  up,  the  physical 
fatigue  is  largely  diminished,  while  the  voice  grows 
clearer,  louder,  and  stronger. 

74.  Beast  and   bird  and  insect  and  man  have 
their  antipathies  :  equal  parts  of  tincture  of  harts- 
horn and  nux  vomica  applied  to  harness  with  a 
brush  repels  flies,  or  to  cracks  and  crevices  in  the 
house,  it  drives  away  many  of  the  bugs,  insects, 
and  vermin  which  infest  our  dwellings  ;  facts  like 
these  seem  to  show  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
Beneficent  One  to  invite  and  to  compel  men  for 
their  own  pleasure  and  in  self-defense  to  investi- 
gate, to  invent,  and  devise,  and  thus  bring  about 
those  industries  of  mind  and  body  which  are  sure 
to  promote  the  health  of  both  ;  doubtless  there  are 
multitudes  of  undiscovered  remedies   for   human 
ills,  pests,  and  annoyances  which  will  be  unfolded 
in  the  future,  to  add  to  the  convenience,  comfort, 
and  well-being  of  the  race. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  IJ 

75.  There  is  not  an  insect,  animal,  or  worm  with- 
out its  use,  hence  nothing  that  has  life  should  be 
unnecessarily  destroyed,  for  to  be  humane  is  to  be 
allied  to  the  divine. 

76.  He  is  not  the  happiest  or  the  most  success- 
ful man  who   has  accumulated  the  most  money, 
but  he  who  has  done  the  most  good  with  it  for 
others. 

77.  Men  are  often  met  with,  plain  in  person, 
plain  in  feature,  plain  in  dress,  without  anything 
whatever  about  them   calculated  to   impress  the 
mind,  and  you  are  surprised  with  the  information 
that  they  are  rich,  and  made  every  dollar  of  their 
money.     On  inquiry  it  will  be  found  that  all  their 
efforts  were  concentrated  on  one  pursuit,  about 
which  they  knew  everything,  and  outside  of  which 
they  knew  nothing  ;  and  you  feel  almost  angry  that 
a  man  of  such  little  information  should  have  been 
so  successful  in  making  so  much  money,  while 
you,  with   your  superior  cultivation  and    greater 
intelligence  have  made,  and  saved  up  none ;  but 
you  forget  that  the  man  has   paid  more  for  his 
money  than  it  is  worth,  it  has  cost  him  all  the 
pleasure  of  human  intelligence ;  as  proof,  would 
you  take  his  sordid  mind  and  his  gold  and  give 
him  therefor  all  you  have  ever  learned  ? 

78.  Ideas  are    contagious    as  well   as  diseases, 
and  spread  with  amazing  rapidity  sometimes  :  ten 
years  ago  not  more  than  fifty  thousand  people  in- 
sured their  lives,  now  there  are  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. 


1  8  nOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 


79.  The   amount   of   strength    expended   by  a 
man  in  lifting  a  pound  one  foot  high,  is  called  a 
foot-pound,  and  is  the  unit  of  work  in  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.     A  foot-ton  is  raising 
2,000  pounds  a  foot  high.     A  man  weighing  150 
pounds,  in  walking  twenty  miles  in  one  day,  uses 
about  350  foot-tons  of  power  or  strength,  and  this 
is  considered  a  good  day's  work  for  a  laborer  ;  the 
average  of  work  done,  is  33^  foot-tons  a  day.     A 
very  strong  man  in  a  copper  rolling  mill,  one  day 
lifted   a   weight   of   90   pounds,   eighteen   inches 
high,  12,000  times,  which  was  equal  to  about  700 
foot-tons  ;   but  few  men    could  do  this,  even  for 
several  days  in'  succession.     In  the  future,  foot- 
pounds  and  foot-tons  will    be  the  expression  of 
power  used  in  any  work,  and  will  be  convenient 
of  remembrance. 

80.  Persons  are  not  very  sick  who  want  to  be 
read  to. 

8  1.  In  a  visit  to  the  sick  do  not  stare  at  them, 
do  not  whisper,  do  not  impose  upon  them  the 
necessity  of  keeping  up  the  conversation,  but  the 
instant  it  ceases  take  your  leave.  The  very  ef- 
fort on  their  part  to  think  of  something  to  say  is 
an  expenditure  of  strength  they  cannot  afford. 
Do  not  read  to  the  sick  when  you  can  tell  it  to 
them,  and  whether  reading  or  talking  let  every 
word  and  syllable  be  slow,  measured,  and  distinct, 
so  that  the  patient  may  listen,  and  comprehend, 
with  the  least  expenditure  possible  ;  for  his  strength 
is  his  life. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  19 

82.  Holding  the  hand  of  the  very  sick  and  the 
dying  is  a  comfort  unspeakable  to  them,  and  if 
you  are  holding  it  and  the  spirit  is  passing  away, 
do  not  release  the  grasp  until  the  poor  heart  is  at 
rest,  for  it  gives  the  feeling  of  company,  of  sym- 
pathy, of  help. 

83.  All  know  that  tobacco  and  ardent  spirits 
act  on  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  and  that 
delirium  tremens,  sleeplessness,  tremulous  hands, 
and   nervous  headaches,  are   the  result  of  their 
habitual  use,  and  notably  apoplexy,  because  these 
stimulants  not  only  send  more  blood  to  the  brain, 
but  with  greater  force,  so  that  the  delicate  veins 
must  hold  more  blood  and  must  bear  an  additional 
strain,  but  while  this  is  the  case  they  are  becom- 
ing weaker  every  day,  because  the  middle  coat  of 
these  vessels  is  changed  into  a  fatty  substance 
from  having  been  made  of   strong  elastic  fibres, 
from  the  effect  of  the  increased  action  and  full- 
ness just  named ;  they  lose  their  elasticity  and 
strength  as  certainly  as  the  bow  which  is  kept  on 
a  strain   all  the  time ;  they  lose  their  power  of 
spring  and  resistance  and  then  give  way,  that  is 
apoplexy ;  that  is  the  reason  why  so  many  who 
habitually  use  stimulants  drop  down  dead  without 
a  moment's  warning,  charitably  called  disease  of 
the  heart. 

84.  The  first  step  toward  an  unsuccessful  life 
is  to  accept  a  salaried  office,  for  you  sell  your  in- 
dependence to  the  appointing  power,  and  cease  to 
be  a  man. 


20  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

85.  The  measure  of  a  man's  success  in  life  is 
in   securing   the   greatest   good   to    the   greatest 
number. 

86.  A  single   grapevine  will  yield    a  thousand 
pounds  of  luscious  fruit  in  a  season  ;  if  a  single 
vine  were   planted    in   the   rear   of  every  family 
dwelling,  the   amount   of  comfort  and  health  to 
every  household   from   this    source  would   richly 
repay  the   trouble   of  cultivation   in   a  very  few 
years. 

87.  There   is    probably    no   greater   difference 
between  any  other  two  substances,  in  several  of 
their  qualities  than  between  the  oil  of  peppermint 
and  the   thorn-apple,  Jamestown    or   stink  weed, 
and  yet,  in  one  respect,  they  unite  in  the  good 
quality  of  giving  instantaneous    relief  to    super- 
ficial burns  and  scalds  ;  the  former  by  applying  it 
over  the  surface,  the  latter  as  an  ointment,  made 
by  moistening  the  freshly  dried  leaves  with  water 
and  stewing  them  with  lard  over  a  slow  fire,  and 
so   useful   in   all  cuts   and   sores  and   burns  and 
ulcers,  that  every  family  should  have  some  of  it 
continually  on  hand, 

88.  The  rich  remain  rich  because  they  continue 
to  practice  the  economy  which  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  their  fortune. 

89.  The  poor  die  in  their  poverty  because  they 
are  improvident,  wasteful,  and  careless. 

90.  If  you  can't  get  good  wages,  work  for  your 
board,  rather  than  do  nothing  and  go  in  debt  ;  or 
live  on  the  earnings  or  charity  of  another. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  21 

91.  He  who  does   his  work  promptly,  courte- 
ously, and  well,  will  in  the  long  run  have  as  much 
as  he  can  do. 

92.  He  who  has  nothing  to  do  is  the  very  one 
who  never  has  time  to  do  anything. 

93.  A  very  large  proportion  of  all  the  crying 
and  pain  and  suffering  of  infants  would  be  infalli- 
bly prevented  if  fed  at  not  less  than  two  hours' 
interval  for  the  first  two  weeks,  three  hours  up  to 
three  months,  for  four  hours  up  to  one  year,  and 
five  hours  thereafter,  with  nothing  whatever  be- 
tween meals  but  drink,  from  daylight  to  bed-time  ; 
feed  thrice  during  the  night  the  first  month,  twice 
the   second,  once   thereafter   until   weaning,  and 
then  discontinue  night-feeding  altogether,  that  is, 
from  bed-time  till  sunrise.    Any  intelligent  mother 
who   practices   this   method    judiciously   for   one 
month  will  be  grateful  for  the  remainder  of  her 
life  for  the  information  of  this  single  paragraph. 

94.  *Do  what  you  can  to  lift  up  the  fallen,  and 
they  will  revere  your  memory  till  their  dying  day. 

95.  A  single  grape-vine  now  forty  years  old,  near 
Santa   Barbara,    California,   yields    ten   thousand 
pounds  of  grapes  every  year,  the  bunches  weigh- 
ing over  two  pounds  each.     For  dyspeptics  and 
the  constipated,  as  well  as  a  large  class  of  other 
invalids,  about  a  pound  of   grapes   eaten    nearly 
an  hour  before  each  meal  has  an  admirably  health- 
ful effect,  especially  in  conjunction  with  exposure 
to  the  out-door  sunshine  for  the  hour  including 
their  eating. 


22  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

96.  The  medical  profession  owe  it  to  their  own 
independence  and  the  safety  of  their  patients  in 
writing   their   prescriptions,  to  write  every  word 
and  every  syllable  in  full,  to  express  every  figure 
by  spelling  it  in  full,  and  to  give  some  idea  as  to 
what  effect  the  remedy  is  expected  to  have,  for  if 
the  patient  does  not  know  the  effect,  he  might  die 
while  waiting  for  it ;  this  has   been  the  author's 
method  for  thirty  years. 

97.  Very  many  persons  die  after  being  cured  of 
the  disease  from  which  they  were  suffering,  for  the 
mere  want  of  strength  to  rise  ;  hence  in  all  cases 
of  sickness  the  least  possible  draught  should  be 
made  on  the  patient's  strength ;  in  an  asthmatic 
spasm,  for  example,  the  patient  feels  as  if  he  would 
die  in  the  effort  to  utter  a  single  monosyllable  ;  it 
is  tiresome   even   to  keep   the  eyes  open,  hence 
many  will  lay  with  theirs  closed  for  hours  ;  the  at- 
tention to  a  question  is  a  weariness. 

98.  He  who  does  his  work  the  best  has  the 
elements  of  greatness  even  if  he  be  but  a  shoe- 
black. 

99.  The  wisest  charity  is  to  help  a  man  to  help 
himself.     To  put  a  man  in  the  way  of  supporting 
himself  gives  him  a  new  lease  of  life,  makes  him 
feel  young  again,  for  it  is  very  many  times  all  the 
sick  man  needs  to  restore  him  to  perfect  health. 

100.  A  friendly  recognition  by  word  or  smile  is 
a  heart-comfort  to  the  sad  and  weary  laborer  for 
daily  bread  ;  then  let  those  smiles  and  words  be 
lavishly  bestowed  and  you  will  not  go  unrewarded. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2$ 

101.  All  honest  labor  is  manly,  and  merits  the 
respect  of  the  good. 

1 02.  The  man  who  has  a  single  idea  and  pursues 
it  with  a  passion  will  nearly  always  meet  with  tri- 
umphant success. 

103.  In   the  earlier  centuries  of   the  Christian 
era  the  average  duration  of  life  among  the  upper 
classes  of  Romans  was  thirty  years,  it  is  now  fifty 
in  the  same  classes  in  civilized  lands. 

104.  As    many  persons   reach  threescore    and 
ten  now  as  lived  forty-three  years,  three  centuries 
ago.     There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  average 
age  of  man  before  the  flood  was  the  same  as  to- 
day.   The  wars  of  the  first  Napoleon  made  it  nec- 
essary to  reduce  the  height  of  soldiers  to  five  feet 
three   inches.     To-day  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
raise  an  army  of  five  feet  and  a  half,  showing  that 
the  tendency  to  stature  is  always  the  same,  and 
why  not  to  age  also.. 

105.  The  height  of  a  man  is  equal  to  the  meas- 
ure of  his  extended  arms,  from  tip  to  tip  of  finger. 

106.  In  all  civilized  countries,  there  is  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  crowd  into  the  town  from  the 
country,  because  any  two  hands  can   earn  more 
money  in  summer  time ;  but  wages  fall  off  in  win- 
ter, the  surplus  of  money  is  soon  expended,  and 
want   and    idleness   combined,    lead    to    doubtful 
ways    at  first,  and   then  every  step  thereafter  is 
downwards,  and  the  end  utter  ruin.     Far  batter  is 
it  that   the  country  should   keep  away  from  the 
town. 


24  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

107.  The  best  way  to  insure  politeness  abroad, 
is  to  practice  it  habitually  at  home,  then  it  be- 
comes instinctive  and  requires  no  effort. 

1 08.  "  I  shall  sleep  long  and  well   here,"  said 
a  noted   bandit  of  California,  as    he  felt  the  lin- 
ing of  his  coffin,  the  moment   before   his  execu- 
tion ;  "  but,"  continued  he,  "  standing  at  the  por- 
tals of  the  unknown  world,  and  looking  back  on 
the  life  of  this,  as  I  have  seen  it,  I  urge  upon  you 
to  make  it  your  greatest  care  to  so  train,  influ- 
ence, and  instruct  the  young,  to  whom  you  have 
given  life,  that  they  may  keep  aloof  from  the  de- 
grading companionship   of  the  immoral  and  the 
vicious."     Wise  advice  this,  from  one  of  the  most 
murderous  outlaws  who  ever  disgraced  his  kind, 
and  had  made  himself  a  terror  for  many  years, 
wherever  his  name  was  known. 

109.  A  little  miss  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  just 
entering  her   "  teens,"  ate  twelve  saucers  full  of 
ice  cream  and  died  in  two  hours  ;  this  shows  that 
a  person  may  have  too  much  of  a  good  thing,  and 
that  it  would  be  rather  better  not  to  eat  twelve 
saucers  full  of  ice  cream  at  a  single  sitting. 

no.  Early  in  the  last  century,  ten  thousand 
governmental  annuitants  died  under  the  age  of 
twenty-eight  years.  A  hundred  years  later  only 
six  thousand  died  under  that  age ;  life  lengthens. 

in.  One  of  the  most  fearful  of  diseases  is 
caused  by  eating  frozen  food  habitually,  while  a 
single  meal  has  sometimes  proved  fatal  in  a  few 
hours. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2$ 

112.  There  should  be  something  warm  taken  at 
each  regular  meal  by  invalids  and  by  the  most 
vigorous  in  cold  weather. 

113.  Anatomists  tell  us  that  in  examining  the 
chests  of  persons  dying  after  forty-five,  there  are 
ocular  proofs,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases,  that 
the  lungs  had  at  one  time  begun  to  decay,  but 
had  spontaneously  healed.     Multitudes  have  had 
many  very  bad  colds  in  the  course  of  a  life-time, 
and  yet  have  not  died  of  consumption. 

114.  A  man  took  refuge  during  a  shower  under 
a  solitary  tree  in   an   open   field  ;  the   lightning 
came  down  through  his  body  and  his  boot,  killing 
him  and  spoiling  the  boot  entirely  ;  hence  people 
who  do  not  want  their  boots  bursted  during  sum- 
mer showers,  thus  compelling  them  to  get  their 
feet  wet  in  going  home,  would  do  well  to  avoid 
standing  under  a  solitary  tree  in  an  old  field  in  a 
thunder-storm. 

115.  Violent  and  fitful  exercise  does  not  promote 
health. 

1 1 6.  That  man  lives   the  longest  who  wisely 
divides  the  occupations  of  life  between  brain  and 
muscle. 

117.  More  money  has  been  given  in  the  last 
fifty  years  by  private  individuals  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  human  kind  and  for  ele- 
vating the  race  by  the  founding  of  hospitals,  asy- 
lums,  reformatories,  homes,  and  literary  institu- 
tions, than  in  any  half  dozen  preceding  centuries 
in  the  world's  history. 


26  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1 1 8.  One  individual,  Peter  Cooper,  seems   to 
have  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  human  benevo- 
lences, in  expending,  during  his  life-time,  a  million 
of  dollars  in  founding  an  institution  in  New  York 
City  for  human  development  by  free  libraries,  free 
reading-rooms,  free  schools,  free  lectures  and  teach- 
ing in   the   arts   and   sciences ;   heretofore,   men 
thought  that  they  were  performing  their  whole 
duty  if  they  gave  away  their  money  for  the  pub- 
lic good  when  they  could  no  longer  keep  it ;  now 
there  have  followed  his  noble  example  a  long  list 
of  noted  names,  as  Peabody,  Lenox,  Vanderbilt, 
Drew,  Lick,  Cornell,  and   a  multitude  of  others 
less  widely  known,  their  free  and  unsolicited  con- 
tributions amounting  in  all  to   many  millions  of 
dollars ;  who  then  shall  say  that  the  age  is  not 
advancing  steadily  towards  a  higher  and  a  higher 
plane. 

119.  We  should  go  to  sleep  on  the  right  side, 
then  the  food  descends  through  the  outlet  of  the 
stomach  by  gravity ;  otherwise,  stomach  power  is 
wasted  in  drawing  it  up  as  from  the  bottom  of  a 
well ;  after  the  first  sleep,  let  the  body  take  care  of 
its  own  position. 

1 20.  Moist  and  warm  air  is  better  for  the  lungs 
than  that  which  is  hot  and  dry,  or  raw  and  damp. 
No  injury  results  from  going  out  into  the  colder 
night  air  from  a  warm  room  if  we  move  about 
with  sufficient  activity  to   keep  off  a  feeling  of 
chilliness,  the  more  easily  done  if  a  third  more 
clothing  is  put  on. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2f 

121.  In  mature  life  we  eat  to  repair  waste  and 
to  keep  warm ;  the  waste  is  in  proportion  to  the 
exercise  taken,  and  the  warmth  required  is  accord- 
ing to  the  temperature  of  the  weather ;  they  are 
wise  who  regulate  their  eating  accordingly. 

122.  The    necessities    of    the     time    demand 
that   Christian   families    should   make   wise   and 
persistent  efforts  to  render  home  more  attractive 
to  their  children,  both  sons  and  daughters  ;  and 
that  churches  in  cities  should  inaugurate  means 
to  bring  the  members,  old  and  young,  sick  and 
poor,   closer   together,   to   get   them    better    ac- 
quainted with  each  other,  in  the  way  of  entertain- 
ments,  lectures,   scientific   exhibitions,  diverting 
amusements  and  parties   for  the   encouragement 
and  promotion  of  a  taste  for  art,  for  painting,  for 
sculpture,  and  more  than  all,  for  vocal  and  instru- 
mental  music,  which   more   than   anything   else 
belongs  to  the  divine,  because  its   inevitable  ef- 
fect on  all  natures  is  to  elevate,  to  purify,  to  en- 
noble. 

123.  Human  life  and  human  character  have  not 
deteriorated,  but  have  notably  improved  in  all  their 
more  valuable  forms  and  conditions,  especially  in 
the  last  hundred  years. 

124.  Many  persons  come  to  their  death  in  Rome, 
Florence,  and  other  places,  by  visiting  picture  gal- 
leries in  which  fires  have  never  been  kindled,  and 
the   sepulchral  dampness  soon  strikes  a  chill  to 
the  heart  unless  extra  covering  is  thrown  over  the 
shoulders  on  entering. 


28  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

125.  At  all  times,  seasons,  and  places,  it  is  better 
to  cultivate  the  habit  of  keeping  the  mouth  shut 
and  breathing  through  the  nose  exclusively ;  this 
tempers  the  air  in  its  passage  through  the  head  to 
the   lungs,  develops   the  chest,  and  keeps  bugs, 
flies,  and  worms,  from  crawling  down  the  throat 
into  the  stomach  during  sleep. 

126.  Very  often  half  the  pleasure  of  reading  a 
letter  from  a  friend  is  lost  in  the  difficulty  of  de- 
ciphering it. 

127.  Out-door  air  is  purer  than  in-door  in  all 
climes,  countries,  and  seasons,  unless  in  low,  level, 
damp  localities. 

128.  Many  persons   are   injured  by  going   out 
into  the  night  air,  not  because  it  is  especially  un- 
healthy,  but   because,   being   cooler,  we   become 
chilled  in  consequence  of  not  having  on  additional 
clothing,  or  from  not  moving  about  actively  enough 
to  keep  comfortably  warm. 

129.  A  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the  ef- 
feminacy of  the  rich  ;  about  their  daughters  being 
brought  up  in  idleness,  and  their  total  unfitness  for 
domestic  life  on  account  of  their  frail  constitutions  ; 
and  yet,  as  showing  the  advantages  in  the  direction 
of  prolonging  life,  of  having  all  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  the  wealthier  classes,  the  strong 
fact  presents  itself,  that  while  the  wealthier  classes 
in  Berlin,  for  example,  average  fifty  years,  the  poor 
pass  away  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  because  of  the 
daily  struggle  for  bread,  and  their  discomforts  for 
want  of  suitable  clothing,  and  fuel,  and  food. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2$ 

130.  Cultivate  an  even  temper  ;  many  a  man 
has  dropped  dead  in  a  fit  of  passion. 

131.  We  talk  about  the  health-giving  influences 
of  the  wash  tub,  and  the  sanitary  value  of  wives 
and  daughters  having  to  cook  and  brew,  and  bake 
and  sew,  and  scrub  every  day,  as  the  sure  means 
of  having  healthy,  vigorous  children  ;  but  carefully 
ascertained  results  show  that  of  one  thousand  in- 
fants of  the  rich  and  as  many  of  the  indigent,  fifty- 
seven  of  the  former  died  before  five  years  ;  of  the 
latter  three  hundred  and  forty-five. 

132.  A  gentleman  after  active  exercise  laid  down 
on  an  ice-chest,  fell  asleep,  waked  up  in  a  chill,  and 
after  two  years  of  suffering  died  of  consumption, 
showing  that  it  is  not  healthful  to  sleep  on  ice- 
chests. 

133.  There  is  only  one  safe  way  of  retiring  from 
an  active  money-making  business  ;  that  is,  by  em- 
barking just  as  vigorously  in  some  form  of  doing 
good,  so  as  to  keep  the  mind  quite  as  busy  as  be- 
fore, for  if  one  "  puts  down  the  brakes  "  upon  the 
brain,  he  buries  the  body  prematurely. 

134.  A  class-mate  worked  hard  and  well  in  pro- 
fessional life  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  one  place. 
He  then  thought  he  was  entitled  to  rest  and  gave 
up  his  position.     Two  years  later  he  wrote,  "  both 
body  and  mind  are  worn  out  and  life  is  a  burden." 
He  was  counseled  to  go  to  work  again,  and  five 
years  later  a  letter  comes  saying,  "  My  avoirdupois 
is  greater  than  ever  before,  and  I  feel  competent 
for  any  work  that  may  be  put  upon  me." 


30  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

135.  "The  least  thing  in  the  world  gives  me  a 
cold,"  is  the  complaint  of  multitudes  ;  it  is  always  a 
sign  of  feeble  health  and  a  feeble  circulation  ;  the 
most  speedy  and  efficient  remedy  is  to  spend  more 
time  in  the  open  air,  and  by  active  exercise  or 
steady  labor  bring  about  a  more  vigorous  circula- 
tion of  the  blood. 

136.  Brown  bread  should  not  be  eaten  habitu- 
ally, if  a  person  is  healthy,  because  no  one  can  be 
better  than  well ;  but  if  its  use  is  deferred  until 
there  is  a  confined  condition  of  the  system,  it  will 
be  found  an  admirable  remedy ;  but  if  the  system 
had  become  accustomed  to  its  use  in  health  there 
would  be  nothing  to  fall  back  upon  in  disease,  and 
then  medicine  would  have  to  be  resorted  to,  instead 
of  food,  an  unnatural,  instead  of  a  natural  remedy. 

137.  Never  go  down  into  a  well  without  first 
ascertaining  whether  a  candle  or  taper  will  burn 
in  it ;  if  it  will  not,  throw  in  cold  water,  this  ab- 
sorbs the  poisonous  gases ;  so  if  a  person  faints 
in  a  well,  pour  down  the  cold  water ;  never  mind 
wetting  his  clothes. 

138.  Acidity  always  arises  either  from  having 
eaten  too  much  food,  or  of  a  quality  which  the 
stomach  could  not  dissolve  ;  the  remedy  is,  eat  less 
and  less  at  each  meal  until  there  is  no  acidity, 
then  you  know  for  yourself  how  much  your  stom- 
ach can  manage  ;  to  eat  the  same  amount  and  as 
regularly  take  something  to  correct  the  acidity,  is 
certain  to  cause  dyspepsia  or  some  other  more  se- 
rious form  of  disease. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  3 1 

139.  Wiry  little  men  who  habitually  walk  with 
a  quick  step  usually  live  to  a  good  old  age,  and  do 
not  look  as  old  as  they  really  are  by  a  dozen  years 
or  more. 

140.  Not  any  wiser  than  the  fabled  bird  which 
hides  its  head  in  the  sand  in  case  of  danger,  as  if 
to  shut  out  the  sight  of  it  was  to  be  safe,  are  the 
many  who  walk  the  streets  with  an  impression  that 
a  soiled  coat  collar,  a  frayed  wristband,  or  an  un- 
blacked  boot-heel,  or  ragged-edged  pantaloons,  are 
not  noticed,  altogether  forgetting  that  those  walk- 
ing behind  have  the  opportunity  of  a  deliberate 
survey,  without  being  observed,  and  form  an  opinion 
of  your  character  accordingly.     We  may  cry  out 
against  dress  until  we  are  hoarse  with  our  croak- 
ing, but  it  is  the  measure  of  the  man  for  all  that. 

141.  Not  the  Caesars  of  the  ages,  any  more  than 
their  Attilas,  not  the  Bonapartes,  nor  the  Swedish 
Charles,  nor  the  German  Frederics,  are  the  world's 
worthies,  —  their  paths  to  glory  and  renown  were 
laid  through  seas  of  blood  and  rapine,  fire  and 
sword,  —  but  rather  they  who  seek  to  alleviate  the 
woes  of  man  and  beast ;  the  Peabodys,  the  Girards, 
the  Coopers,  the  Berghs,  the  Cornells,  the  Drews, 
of  a  modern  civilization  ;   men  whose  lives  were 
begun  in  making  and  saving  money,  to  end  in  dis- 
posing of  it  in  helping  the  poor  by  affording  them 
the  facilities  for  learning  how  to  help  themselves 
and  how  to  rise  to  a  higher  plane  of  life,  above 
destitution,  and  thriftlessness,  and  waste,  and  dis- 
ease, and  crime. 


32  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

142.  Cool  off  in  a  place  greatly  warmer  than  the 
one  in  which  you  have  been  exercising  ;  this  simple 
rule,  if  intelligently -observed,  would  prevent  an  in- 
calculable amount  of  sickness,  and  save  many  a  life 
every  year. 

143.  Never  allow  yourself  to  be  "  chilled  through 
and  through,"  as  it  uniformly  causes  inflammation 
of  the  lungs,  called   pneumonia,   usually  proving 
fatal  within  a  week. 

144.  As  to  the  recognition  of  friends  in  the  land 
of  the  blessed,  we  know  that  memory  never  dies, 
and  that  it  goes  back  to  the  world  we  have  left, 
as  did  that  of  the  rich  man  and  Abraham,  for  it 
is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  we  shall  know 
less  hereafter  than  here. 

145.  Edmund  Burke  relates  that  he  had  to  go 
to  a  certain  place  every  day  for  a  long  time,  and 
that  it  was  disagreeable  to  do  so  ;  yet,  when  he 
had  to  give  it  up  he  felt  the  loss  of  it,  and  did 
not  feel  quieted  until  he  was  in  his  usual  track ; 
on  the  same  principle,  when  a  person  does  any- 
thing habitually  for  the  health,  for  a  long  time,  an 
omission   causes   an   uncomfortable  feeling ;   but 
that   does   not   prove  that  the  habit  or   practice 
was   beneficial,  whether  it  be  a  cold-water   bath 
or  a  drink  of  grog  every  morning;  on  the  same 
principle,  if    one   cultivate  habits   of   regularity, 
temperance,  cleanliness,  and  exercise  he  will  soon 
come  to  the  point  that  they  can  be  kept  up  with- 
out an  effort ;  it  will  be  actually  easier  to  continue 
than  to  neglect  them. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  33 

146.  A  practical  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  our 
being,  leads  to   large  results  in  the  direction  of 
human  enjoyment,  happiness,  and  health. 

147.  Begin  early  to  live  under  the  benign  in- 
fluences of  the  Christian  religion,  for  "  it  has  the 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which 
is  to  come." 

148.  To  know  how  to  keep   a  tidy  house  and 
well-aired  apartments  ;  to  know  how  to  select  the 
best  kinds  of  food  ;  to  know  how  prepare  them  in 
the   best   manner, — these   are   first   things,  and 
every  daughter  should  learn  them  before  marriage. 

149.  The  "  well-to-do  "  average  nearly  a  score 
of  years  longer  than  the  poor,  because  they  can 
command  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  life, 
tidiness  of  surroundings,  and  the  best  ways   of 
doing  things  ;  while  they  thus   economize    time, 
labor  and  care,  they  have  regular  habits  of  eat- 
ing, their  full  share  of  sleep,  the  best  food,  cooked 
in  the   best  manner,  abundant  rest ;   exemption 
from  exposure  to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and 
inclement  weather ;  warm  in  winter,  and  in  sum- 
mer   live   in   roomy   and   well   ventilated    apart- 
ments —  their  intelligence  teaching  them  how  to 
arrange  that  these  things  shall  be  brought  about. 

150.  No  one  should  go  to  sleep  at  night  with- 
out having  an  extra  blanket  within  easy  reach  to 
be  used  in  case  of  a  sudden  change  of  weather ; 
or,  if  waking  up  and  finding  the  room  on  fire,  it 
is  thrown  over  the  head,  the  flames  can  be  passed 
through  safely. 


34  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

151.  The  suspicions  we  entertain  about  the  ac- 
tions of  others  are  but  too  often  founded  on  the 
knowledge  of  what  we  have  done  or  would  do  our- 
selves. 

152.  Cross  people,  the   ill-natured,  those  who 
are  always  growling  or  complaining  of  something 
or  of   somebody  ;   inveterate  fault-finders,   upon 
whose  faces  a  genial  smile  never  plays  ;  whose 
hearts   are   strangers    to   the    humanizing   influ- 
ences of  warming  sympathies  ;  who  have  no  for- 
bearance, make  no  allowances,  and  have  neither 
love  nor  consideration  ;  not  such,  indeed,  natur- 
ally, but  have  been  moulded  into  these  wretched 
"forms,"    by   the    slow   influences    of    insidious 
disease,  brought  on  by  self-indulgence  and  unre- 
straint in  eating  and  drinking  ;  not  deliberately 
always,  but  generally,  perhaps,  unconsciously,  or 
in  ignorance,  which  it  is  the  design  of  this  book 
to  remove.     How  much  they  are  to  be  pitied ! 

153.  Dyspepsia   can   be   uniformly   cured  and 
always  avoided  by  the  following  rules  :  — 

1.  Eat  thrice  a  day. 

2.  Not  an  atom  between  meals. 

2.  Nothing  after  a  noon-day  dinner,  but  some 
cold  bread  and  butter  and  one  cup  of  hot  drink. 

4.  Spend  at  least  half  an  hour  at  each  meal. 

5.  Cut  up  all  the  food  into  pea-sized  pieces. 

6.  Never  eat  so  much  as  to  cause  the  slightest 
uncomfortable  sensation  afterwards. 

7.  Never  work   or  study  hard  within  half  an 
hour  of  eating. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  35 

154.  In  any  wealthy  family  of  ten  members  in 
New  York  City,  there   is    enough    food   wasted 
daily  to   feed   three  grown   persons  ;   wasted   in 
preparation,   wasted   in   the   distribution   of   the 
fragments,   and   wasted   in   the  mode   of  eating 
them  ;   for  example,  the   only  method   of  saving 
all  the  nutriment  of  a  piece  of  beef  is  to  beat  it 
into  a    pulp,   pour    on   it    boiling  water,   shake 
briskly,  season  and  eat ;  it  makes  the  most  nutri- 
tious beef-tea  in  the  world,  for  all  the  uses  to 
which  it  can  be  applied. 

155.  The  great  necessity  of  all  brain  workers 
is  rest  in  sleep,  to  which  at  least  one  third  of  a 
man's  existence  should  be  devoted,  after  he  passes 
fifty  ;  nothing  but  this  inflexible  rule   enabled  a 
previous  and  the  present  prime  minister  of  Eng- 
land to  endure  to  so  great  an  age  the  prolonged 
high   pressure  of  a  statesman's   life ;   and  there 
would  be  large  gains  of  usefulness  to  the  world, 
if  all  professional  men  would  early  heed  the  sug- 
gestion. 

156.  Walk  with  the  toes  outward,  the  chin  up- 
ward, and  the  head  backward  ;  this  gives  a  manly 
and  fearless  appearance,  and  greatly  adds  to  the 
development  of  the  lungs,  thus  promoting  health 
and  long  life. 

157.  However  unnaturally  slow,  or  fast,  or  irreg- 
ular your  pulse  may  be  in  comparison  with  others, 
do  not  worry,  take  nothing,  do  nothing  except  by 
the  advice  of  a  competent  physician,  for  it  may  be 
a  natural  peculiarity. 


36  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

158.  An  habitually  erect  position  while  sitting 
down,  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  health  ; 
hence,  accustom  yourself  to   sit  with  the .  lower 
end  of  the  spine  pressed  against  the  back  of  the 
chair. 

159.  Although   the   average  length  of  human 
life  is  over  forty  years  in  the  more  civilized  na- 
tions, taking  the  world  together  it  is  about  thirty- 
three  and  one  third  years  ;  this  is  called  a  gener- 
ation, an  age,  three  in  a  century. 

1 60.  A  confined  condition  of  the  system  attends 
almost  every  human  sickness  ;  in  the  remainder 
there  is  looseness  ;  the  dejections  are  thin,  watery, 
weakening.     A  diet  of  sweet  milk  will  confine ; 
sweet  cider  will  loosen.     But  all  constitutions  are 
not  alike,   and   different  articles   of  food    affect 
different  persons  variously.     Hence,  every  man 
should  find  out  by  accurate  and  close  observation 
what  confines   him  and  what  loosens ;  then,  by 
adapting  his  food  and  drink  to  the  symptoms,  he 
will  be  sure  to  cure  himself  of  any  ordinary  dis- 
ease, and  thus  avoid  taking  medicine  altogether. 

1 6 1.  The  notable  and  noble  Queen  of  England 
has  raised  to  maturity  nearly  a  dozen  children  un- 
der the  guidance  and  instructions  of  eminent  med- 
ical men ;  and  that  such  a  result  should  be  the  ex- 
ception instead  of  the  uniform  rule  is  owing  to  the 
culpable  ignorance  and  inexcusable  inattention  of 
parents. 

162.  Work  by  the  day  and  not  by  the  job,  if 
you  want  to  be  healthy. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  37 

163.  Men   of    force   and   industry   everywhere 
will  tell  you  that  it  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the 
world  to  do  nothing. 

164.  Society  would   be    greatly  blessed    if    all 
were  to  sedulously  cultivate  the  habit  of  making 
no  statement  which  was  not  literally  true,  with  a 
"  liberal  margin." 

165.  It  is  very  common,  especially  in  the  coun- 
try, to  have  certain  things  on  hand  "  in  case  of 
sickness,"  such  as  cider,  cordials,  bitters,  brandies, 
"  Bourbon,"  and  the  like.     In  three  cases  out  of 
four,  recoveries  will  take  place  if  nothing  whatever 
is  done  except  to  lie  down  and  stay  there  until 
well.     If  any  of  the  things  just  named  are  taken, 
they  neither  hinder  recovery  nor  promote  it ;  na- 
ture restores  in  the  same  way  as  if  nothing  had 
been  done ;  but  the  article  taken  gets  the  credit 
of  the  cure ;  and  the  reasoning  is,  if  it  cured  one 
man  it  will  cure  another ;  hence,  it  is  gratuitously 
advised  to  every  person  having  that  ailment ;  and 
then  again,  if  it  removes  one  symptom  it  may  re- 
move another ;  thus  the  field  of  its  applicability 
is  constantly  enlarging,  and  before  even  careful, 
and  thoughtful,  and  sensible  persons  are  aware  of 
it,  they  find  themselves  and  their  families  resort- 
ing to  the  bitters,  or  brandy,  or  whiskey  bottle,  for 
every  trifling  thing,  even  a  little  tiredness,  or  de- 
bility, or  indigestion.     Thus  drunkards  are  some- 
times made  of  half  a  dozen  members  of  a  single 
family  by  having   cordials  on  hand  to  take  "  in 
case  of  sickness." 


38  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1 66.  Beverages  are  tempters  to  the  first  steps 
towards  drunkenness. 

167.  He  who  takes  one  drop  of  liquor  may  die 
in  the  gutter  ;  he  who  has  the  high  moral  courage 
to  refuse  that  first  drop  never  can. 

1 68.  "I  have  come  to  know  whether  you  think 
I  am  deranged  or  not,"  said  a  young  lady  before 
taking  a  seat  one  day  in  my  office,  with  a  direct- 
ness, frankness,  and  unembarrassment  most  sur- 
prising.    She  was  young,  prepossessing,  educated. 
She  had  evidently  been  accustomed  to  move  in 
cultivated  and  refined  society.     She  was  rational, 
and  even  brilliant  on  all  but  one  single  subject ; 
on  that  she  was  plainly  daft.     This  was  before 
"Flora   McFlimsy  of   Madison   Square"  became 
immortalized,  and  had  a  "  claimant "  for  its  author 
in    the  person   of  a   school-girl,   who  was   other 
than  William  Allan  Butler.     Since  then,  "Rock 
Me  to   Sleep,   Mother,"   and   "Beautiful    Snow," 
and    other   pieces    of   poetry,    have   had  various 
claimants  for  authorship.     Whenever  this  young 
lady  heard  an  impressive  lecture  or  sermon,  she 
would  go  home  and  insist  upon  it  in  the  most  pos- 
itive and  impressive  manner,  that  her  own  notes 
or  writings  had  been  plagiarized. 

169.  The  true  idea  of  rest  is  recreation  ;  liter- 
ally, making  over  again ;    this   is    accomplished, 
not  by  allowing  the  machinery  of  body  and  brain 
to  come  to  a  stand-still,  for  inactivity  is  rust  and 
ruin   to   all   mechanical   contrivances,  and  to   all 
physiological  structures,  death. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  39 

170.  The  best  recreation  for  a  student,  is  to 
ride  on  horseback ;  to  cultivate  fruits  and  flowers, 
or  walk  an  hour  or  two  and  then  return  to  his 
studies. 

171.  The  merchant  can  get  "rest"  by  closing 
his   ledgers,  shutting  up   his   counting   room,  or 
rather  shutting  it  out,  and  employing  his  mind  in 
liberal  studies,  or  engaging  in  active,  personal  and 
elevating  charities  ;  while  the  overtaxed  and  wor- 
ried wife  may  find  a  healthful  and  elevating  diver- 
sion, by  making  a  visit  to  some  prudent  friend, 
some  cheery  neighbor  or  some  suffering  sister. 

172.  Neither  body  nor  brain  are  safely,  truly, 
and  happily  rested  by  doing  nothing. 

173.  Many  persons  may  remember  various  oc-- 
casions  when  upon  something  occurring  to  the 
mind  there  was  a  very  filmy  impression  that  it 
had  previously  crossed  the  brain,  and  there  is  in 
all  such  cases  an  instinctive  effort  to  recall  the 
circumstances.     Sometimes  in  our  dreams  there 
is  a  feeling  of  their  previous  occurrence,  the  dif- 
ference in  the  cases  being  only  in  the  depth  of 
the  conviction. 

174.  No  means  have  ever  yet  been  devised  for 
regulating  the  heat  of  an  apartment,  to  prevent 
its  being  unhealthfully  cold  or  warm.     By  means 
of  the  perspiration,  the  body  is  kept  at  the  tem- 
perature of  ninety-eight,  in  all  seasons  and  in  all 
latitudes. 

175.  Those  who  know  most,  seldom  make  pos- 
itive statements  on  any  subject. 


40  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

176.  It  is  an  incontrovertible  physiological  fact 
that  any  artificial  stimulus,  continued  for  a  few 
days,  makes  the  system  feel  the  want  of  it,  lean 
instinctively  upon  it  and  look  for  it ;  but  this  is 
not  all ;  the  same  height  of  stimulation  is  required 
every   day,   demanding   a  larger  amount  of   the 
stimulant,  or  it  must  be  increased  in  frequency, 
until  the  demand  becomes  so  urgent,  so  resistless, 
so  intolerable,  that  the  worst  of  crimes  have  been 
perpetrated  to  procure  the  means  for  a  single  in- 
dulgence. 

177.  Multitudes  of  earth's  toiling  millions  have 
died  while   striving  to   make   money  enough   to 
"retire  from  business,"  and  in  a  beautiful  cottage 
on  their  own  little  farm,  to  spend  the  remnant  of 
their  days  in  rest,  having  nothing  to  do   but  to 
enjoy  themselves.     Those  who  succeed  and  retire, 
soon  find  that  they  cannot  rest ;  the  mind  frets 
and  chafes  under  its  unaccustomed  inactivity,  and 
the  man  is  either  worried  into  the  grave,  becomes 
a  permanent  invalid,  or  is  compelled  to  go  into 
business  again.     The  true  object  of  rest  is  recu- 
peration, and  that  is  best  brought  about  as  to  the 
body  by  exercising  a  different  set  of  muscles,  and 
as  to  the  brain  by  calling  into  requisition  a  differ- 
ent set  of  organs  or  powers,  causing  the  mind  to 
act  upon  new  objects. 

178.  Never  use  an  expletive  more  comprehen- 
sive than  "often,"    or  "very;"  and  let  "awful," 
"never,"  and   "tremendous,"  be  expunged  from 
your  vocabulary. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  41 

179.  The  reason  that  there  are  so  many  worth- 
less remedies  in  the  world  is,  that  they  have  been 
taken  about  the  time  the  disease  was  at  its  crisis, 
was  just  on  the  turn  of  disappearing,  and  then  the 
one  employed  is  heralded  as  a  wonderful  cure,  as 
having   accomplished   what  multitudes  of  others 
had  failed  to  do. 

1 80.  A  child  had  convulsions  from  taking  the 
breast  of  the  mother  immediately  after   she  had 
been  thrown  into  a  violent  rage.     A  dog  bit  a 
woman  and  no  harm  came  of  it ;  the  husband  be- 
ing angry,  drew  the  brute  from  under  the  sofa,  held 
it  up  by  the  tail  and  began  to  whip  it  ;  while  doing 
so,  the  dog  managed  to  snap  a  piece  of  the  flesh 
out  of  the  husband's  arm  and  he  died  in  a  few 
days  in  East  Newark,  New  Jersey,  in  all  the  hor- 
rors of  hydrophobia.     These  cases  seem  to  show, 
that  intense  mental  excitement   of   an   irritating 
character  poisons  the  secretions  of  the  body,  lead- 
ing us  to  conclude  that  genial,  gentle,  and  noble 
frames  of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  mother  while 
nursing  her  children,  impart  those  characteristics 
to  the  little  ones  at  her  breast.     But  what  shall 
we  say  of  the  mother  who  unnecessarily  allows 
her  infant  to  draw  its  supplies  from  a  stranger's 
bosom,  only  caring  to  know  that  the  bodily  health 
is  unexceptionable,  while  insanity,  or  any  one  of  a 
dozen  inheritable  maladies,  may  be  rankling  in  the 
veins. 

1 8 1.  The  weakest-minded    and    the  least    in- 
formed, are  habitually  the  most  positive. 


42  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1 82.  The  quicker  the  pulse  beats  over  the  healthy 
standard  of  seventy  times  in  a  minute,  with  a  daily 
morning  cough,  the  more  certain  it  is  that  consump- 
tion is  at  work. 

183.  No  medicine  ever  cured  or  can  cure  dys- 
pepsia ;  the  infallible  remedy  is  to  eat  plain,  nour- 
ishing food,  regularly,  and  live  out  of  doors,  indus- 
triously. 

184.  To  be  able  to  sit  down  to  a  well-spread 
table  with  a  good  appetite,  and  to  eat  to  one's  sat- 
isfaction three  times  a  day,  without  any  discomfort 
whatever,  is  a  blessing  and  a  happiness  ;  and  yet, 
there  are  multitudes  in  apparent  good  health,  who 
for  years  have  not  known  what  it  is  to  take  a 
single  meal,  without  its  being  followed  within  an 
hour  or  two  with  torments  enough  to  make  a  man 
mad  ;  torments  which  subvert  the  whole  character, 
sour  the  disposition,  imbitter  the  temper,  and  turn 
the  sweetest  affections  into  wormwood  and  gall. 
This  is  dyspepsia. 

185.  He  whipped  his  little  three  year  old  boy 
with  a  shingle  for  two  hours,  in  trying  to  make 
him  say  his  prayers  ;  observing  him  to  be  weak  he 
called  his  wife,  who,  looking  at  the  child  said,  "  He 
is  dying,"  and  so  he  was.    This  was  recorded  of 
a  man  of  superior  education  and  of  talents  which 
commanded  respect  and  success  in  professional  life. 
What  horrors  of  remorse,  unquenchable  this  side 
the  grave,  will  follow  that  erring  father,  like  infur- 
iated fiends,  to  the  last  hour  of  life,  no  pen  can 
portray,  no  imagination  paint. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  43 

1 86.  If  you  must  strike  your  child,  let  it  be  after 
mature  deliberation  and  prayer. 

187.  Many  a  household  once  happy,  has  become 
a  very  pandemonium,  the  husband  a  tyrant,  the 
wife  a  virago,  an  unendurable  shrew,  from  the  in- 
fluence which  a  dyspeptic  stomach  has  on  the  mind, 
the  temper,  and  the  heart. 

1 88.  The  almost  universal  cause  of  dyspepsia  is 
eating  too  fast,  too  often,  and  too  much. 

1 89.  A  distinctive  odor  escapes  every  one  ;  it  is 
thus  the  dog  can  follow  his  master  through  any 
crowd  ;  if  it  is  so  decided  as  to  be  disagreeable,  it 
can  be  modified  or  remedied  in  the  feet,  by  wash- 
ing them  well,  night   and   morning,  then  mix  a 
teaspoonful  of  spirits  of  hartshorn  in  a  teacup  of 
water,  and  rub  into  the  soles,  especially,  a  teaspoon- 
ful or  two  ;  if  under  the  arms,  apply  the  same  ;  or, 
in  some  cases,  better  take  one  part  of  the  red  oxide 
of  lead,  bruise  it  in  a  porcelain  mortar,  adding  by 
degrees  twenty-nine  parts  of  the  liquor  of  the  sub- 
acetate  of  lead ;  apply  a  few  drops  weekly,  in  sum- 
mer oftener. 

190.  When  near  death,  the  pulse  runs  up  to  one 
hundred  and  forty  beats  in  a  minute,  and  faster 
and  faster  until  the  end,  when  it  ceases  forever. 
The  soft  pulse,  as  if  a  woolen  string  were  vibrating 
under  the  finger,  is  safe  ;  but  a  pulse  which  beats 
with  the  tenseness  of  a  thin  wire,  is  full  of  danger. 

191.  Those  who   have   survived   an  attack   of 
small-pox,  are  notably  exempt  from  ordinary  mala- 
dies, and  usually  live  to  a  good  old  age. 


44  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

192.  All  should  be  vaccinated  at  the  age  of  one 
month,  and  at  fourteen  years  ;  the  operation  should 
be  repeated  every  month,  at  least  for  several  times, 
until  it  "  takes  ; "  and  ever  thereafter  there  will  be 
but  little  danger  of  small-pox. 

193.  It  matters  not  what  ailment  a  man  has,  al- 
most every  one  he  meets  has  a  remedy  for  it,  and 
which  "  can  do  no  harm  if  it  does  no  good."     But 
while  you  are  waiting  for  its  good  results,  the  time 
for  saving  life  may  pass  away.     Besides,  it  gener- 
ally happens,  that  it  does  no  good,  and  you  find 
by  bitter  experience   that   however   beneficial  it 
may  have  been  in  curing  others,  somehow,  as  to 
yourself,  it  is  utterly  valueless.    Many  diseases  are 
self-limited  ;  they  reach  a  certain  point  of  aggra- 
vation, and  then  disappear  spontaneously,  having 
run  their  natural  course,  like  measles  or  small-pox, 

194.  An  encouraging  word,  or  a  cheerful  look, 
often  does  the  patient  more  good  than  pill,  powder, 
or  potion. 

195.  Those  who  write  under  depression  of  spir- 
its will  write  nonsense,  or  very  illogically. 

196.  Every  one  ought  to  know  how  many  times 
the  pulse  beats  in  a  minute  in  repose,  in  health, 
for  sometimes  persons  have  a  preternaturally  fast 
or  slow  pulse  and  in  case  of  illness,  the  physician 
may  make  a  fatal  mistake,  unless  he  knows  this. 
An  infant's  pulse  is  130  a  minute ;  at  seven,  80 ; 
up  to  threescore  years  it  is  about  70  beats  in  a 
minute  ;  a  woman's  five  or  six  more  ;  at  fourscore, 
it  declines  to  60. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  45 

197.  A  person  in  actual  consumption   has   a 
pulse  uniformly  among  the  nineties,  until  he  nears 
the  grave,  unless  he  has  an  occasional  bleeding 
from  the  lungs  ;  then,  his  pulse  may  remain  about 
natural  until  he  is  far  gone. 

198.  Hydrophobia  is  sometimes  a  purely  nerv- 
ous disease ;  that  is,  it  may  be  generated  by  the 
imagination ;  as  proof,  there  are  records  of  many 
who  have  died  of  hydrophobia,  having  a  shudder- 
ing at  the  sight   of  water,  and  foaming   at  the 
mouth,  when  in  reality,  mad  dogs  do  neither. 

199.  A  dog  supposed  to  be  mad  and  who  has 
bitten  a  person,  should  never  be  killed ;  because 
then,  that  person  may  remain  for  life  uncertain, 
yet  fearing,  —  a  horrible  incubus.    But  put  the  dog 
in  a  dark  room,  introduce  food  and  water  daily  ; 
let  him  alone  otherwise ;  if  he  becomes  composed 
and  take  his  food,  he  will  get  well  in  a  day  or  two  ; 
then  it  is  certain  he  was  not  mad ;  if  he  dies  in 
convulsions,   then  we  know  that  he  was   mad ; 
speaking  scientifically,  hydrophobia,    rabies,  and 
being  "  mad,"  are  not  strictly  convertible  terms. 

200.  Every  man  should  be  regular  in  his  habits 
of  eating ;  should  have  all  the  sound  sleep  which 
nature  will  take  ;  should  be  in  the  open  air  an 
hour   or   two    every   day   when   practicable,   and 
should  have  a  pleasurable  and  an  encouragingly 
remunerative  occupation  which  keeps  him  a  little 
pushed  all  the  time ;  such  are  the  happiest  and 
healthiest,  in  whatever  class  or  "  set "  in  society 
they  may  be  ranked. 


46  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

20 1.  All  coughs  are  excited  by  a  tickling  sensa- 
tion about  the  little  hollow  at  the  top  of  the  breast- 
bone, the  cause  being  in  the  throat  itself,  in  the 
lungs,  or  in  the  stomach ;  but  wherever  the  seat 
may  be,  it  is  always  a  bad  practice  to  take  any- 
thing to  repress  the  cough,  for   this  is  nature's 
method  of  removing  from  the  system  that  which 
ought  to  be  out  of  it,  and  which  if  not  removed 
will  always  and  inevitably  work  bodily  harm  ;  hence 
it  would  be  wiser  to  do  something  to  increase  the 
cough  and  thus  aid  nature. 

202.  Night  is   the   time  for   rest  of  body  and 
brain,   especially  for    students,   who    require    all 
the  sleep  they  can  get,  or  that  their  system  will 
take  ;  nor  should  any  person  be  waked  up  in  the 
morning,  nature  will  infallibly  do  that  as  soon  as 
she  has  had  her  fill ;  and   to  shorten  sleep  is  to 
shorten  life  ;  one  quarter  of  the  time  of  daylight 
in  the  temperate  latitudes,  is  as  long  as  any  man 
can  profitably  spend  in  hard  study. 

203.  A  clerical  editor  and  personal  friend  once 
published  that  a  good  cup  of  strong  tea  was  an 
admirable  aid  in  preaching  a  sermon.     Later  on 
we  were  called  to  see  him.     He  had  lost  his  mind. 

204.  Never  state  as  a  truth,  especially  in  argu- 
ment,  that   which   rests   on  your   own  assertion 
merely. 

205.  Neither  poverty,  hardships,  nor  exposure 
tend  to  lengthen  life,  but  shorten  it  by  many  years. 

206.  The  value  of  life  is  less  among  the  poor 
than  among  the  rich. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  47 

207.  Boxing  the  ears  is  an  inexcusable  brutal- 
ity ;  many  a  child  has  been  made  deaf  for  life  by 
it,  because  the  "drum  of  the  ear"  is  a  membrane 
as  thin  as  paper,  and  stretches  across  the  internal 
entrance,  just  like  a  curtain,  and  there  being  noth- 
ing but  air  behind  it,  any  violent  concussion  may 
rend  it  in  twain,  and  the  hearing  is  lost  forever, 
because  the  sense  of  hearing  is   caused   by  the 
vibrations  of  this  membrane,  called  the  "  tympa- 
num." 

208.  To  put  yourself  on  your  best  behavior  and 
to  be  faultlessly  dressed  at  the  breakfast  table,  is 
to  begin  any  day  well. 

209.  A  debt  is  due  to  our  neighbors,  which  it 
is  a  crime  not  to  pay :  to  have  the  outside  of  our 
homes  tidy  and  well  ordered  up  to  our  farthest  line  ; 
and  it  is  a  debt  not  less  binding  to  ourselves  and 
those  nearest  and  dearest  to  us,  to  have  the  inside 
most  scrupulously  clean  and  in  good  repair  from 
cellar  to  garret. 

210.  The  average  man  weighs  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  pounds,  eighty-four  of  which  are  water  ; 
the  remainder  turns  to  dust  and  ashes. 

211.  No  man  was  made   to   be   a  loafer.     All 
beasts  and  birds  and  creeping   things   look  dili- 
gently for  a  living.     The  sun  and  stars  and  every 
planet  in  space  move  forever  and  forever  on,  and 
shall  the  heir  of  immortality  be  the  only  idler  in 
the  universe  ? 

212.  The  best  sleepers   are  the  most  efficient 
workers. 


48  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

213.  All  look   forward   longingly  to   the  time 
when    they  shall  be  able   to    "  retire  from    bus- 
iness ; "  the  wisest  retiring,  as  well  as  the  noblest, 
is  that  which  has  for  its  object  an  entire  conse- 
cration of  time  and  talent,  and  head,  heart,  and 
hand,  to  the  elevation  of  the  race. 

214.  It  is  not  he  who  works  the  hardest  who 
has  the  best   health  ;  it  is  the  deliberate  steady 
laborer  who  lives  the  longest. 

215.  That   is   the   best  time   for  writing,  effi- 
ciently, whether  at  noon  or  midnight,  when  the 
spirit  is  on  you  ;  the  mind  then  takes  hold  of  the 
subject  with   a  will,  and   the  whole  soul   is   ab- 
sorbed in  it. 

216.  Many  a  man's  destiny  has  been  made  or 
marred  for  time  and  for  eternity,  by  the  influence 
which  reading  a  single  sentence  has  made  on  his 
mind,  shaping   his  character  for  life ;  making  it 
terribly   true,   that   moments   sometimes   fix  the 
coloring  of  our  whole  subsequent  existence ;  and 
it   is   just  as  true  as  to   human   life,  which   has 
many  a  time  found  a  speedy  end  by  quite  as  lit- 
tle things,  as  an  over-meal,  a  too  hasty  draught 
of  water,  a  damp  foot,  or  an  open  window. 

217.  One  of  the  best  ways  of  living  long  and 
healthfully  is  to  gather  around  you,  early  in  life, 
all  the  conveniences  and  comforts  possible,  then 
to  stay  home  of  nights  and  enjoy  them. 

218.  A  consumptive  who  spits  blood  occasion- 
ally, will  have  less  cough  and  live  longer,  than  one 
who  does  not  have  any  haemorrhage. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  49 

219.  It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  mad 
dogs   do   not  bark,  that  they  drink  water  when 
they  can  get  it,  and  never  go  out  of  their  way  to 
bite  anybody ;  and  that  the  most  certain  indica- 
tion of  their  madness  is,  that  they  paw  the  sides 
of  their  mouth  and   consume   their  own   excre- 
ment, which  last  a  healthy  dog  never  does.  • 

220.  There  is  a  kind  of  bed,  which  costs  two 
or  three  or  more  thousand  dollars  and  is  cheap  at 
that  price,   for  it   means   that   if  you  give  that 
much  to  a  hospital,  the  interest  of  it  will  pay  all 
the  expenses  of  a  sufferer,  as  long  as   he  lives ; 
and  then  some  other  sorrowing  one  will  take  his 
place,  to  be  fed  and  clothed  and  ministered  unto 
for  life ;  and  so   on  until  the  end  of  time  ;  and 
thus  the  memory  of  the  good  is  blessed  and  their 
works  do  follow,  and  "  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven." 

221.  When  a  man  has  a  tickling  sensation  in 
the  throat,  causing  a  cough,  the  most  important 
question  is,  Does  it  arise  from  the  condition  of 
the  throat  itself,  from  the  stomach,  or  from  the 
lungs  ?  and  he  should  act  accordingly,  by  address- 
ing  the   remedies  to  whichever  of   these  points 
gives  rise  to  the  tickling. 

222.  The  value  of  the  permanent  teeth,  which 
are  completed  between  the  seventh  and  twenty- 
first   year,  depends  very  much   on  the   manage- 
ment of  the  first  set,  which   should   not   be  ex- 
tracted, but  allowed  to  be  pushed   out  by  their 
successors. 

4 


50  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

223.  The   best   time   to   write   with   freshness 
and  vigor  and  logical  truthfulness,  is  in  the  early 
morning,  after  a  very  light  breakfast,  when  the 
brain  has  been  recuperated  and  renovated  by  the 
natural  stimulus  of  healthful  sleep,  and  before  its 
force  has  been  expended  or  divided   by  the  dis- 
tracting affairs  of  common  life. 

224.  At  the  closing  hour  of  life,  the  mind  of 
the  great  Washington  was  disturbed  at  the  pos- 
sibility that  he  might  be  buried  alive.     His  very 
last  words,  "It  is  well,"  referred  to  the  answer 
of  an   attendant,   intimating   that  his   views   on 
that  subject  would   be  religiously  respected.    In 
Munich,  where  all  the  dead  are  required  by  law 
to  be  kept  "  twice  twenty-four  hours  "  in  a  large 
lighted  room,  not  a  single  case  of  revival  had  oc- 
curred in  three  hundred  years  ;   the  changes  of 
position,  noticed  in  opening  coffins,  are  incident 
to  the  handling  between  the  house  and  the  grave. 

225.  After  a  healthy  person   has  been  at  rest 
for  several  minutes,  not  within  an  hour  of  eating, 
the  natural  pulse  beats  about  seventy  times  in  a 
minute  from   twenty  onwards  ;  five  or  six  more 
for  women  ;  and  every  intelligent  person  should 
learn  from  his  physician  what  his  natural  health- 
ful pulse  is,  so  that  in  case  he  should  get  sick 
away  from  home,  his  medical  adviser  may  have 
the  advantage  of  this  knowledge  ;   for  there  are 
a  few  cases  of  persons   having  good   health   for 
a  time,  with  a  pulse  -of  fifty,  and  it  is  rare  that  an 
adult  can  have  good  health  with  over  seventy-five 
beats  in  a  minute,  whether  male  or  female. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  51 

226.  If  the  thermometer  is  placed  in  the  arm- 
pit in  health,  it  marks  about  one  hundred  degrees 
Fahrenheit ;  if  it  indicates  five  or  six  more,  death 
is  approaching. 

227.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  once  said,  "  One 
cannot  gather  some  of  the  best  fruits  of  life  with- 
out climbing  out  to  the  slender   and  dangerous 
branches    of   the  'Ego/"  meaning   thereby   that 
many  a  truth  is  made  more  valuable  and  becomes 
more  impressive  by  the  narrator  being  able  to 
say,  "  I  saw  it."     Hence,  it  is  riot  always  wholly 
improper  to  talk  about  ourselves. 

228.  It  is  a  wicked  blunder  to  saw  a  silk  thread 
between  the  teeth,  as  it  facilitates  the  lodging  of 
extraneous   matters   between  them  and  prevents 
the  full  spreading  of  the  jaw,  which  gives  so  much 
character  to  the  face. 

229.  No  one  ought  to  make  himself  a  galley- 
slave  to  any  observance.     Man  is  the  most  adapt- 
able  animal   in   creation.     Occasional   deviations 
from  ordinary  habits  are  beneficial,  they  impart  a 
pliability  to    the   constitution  which   gives    it   a 
greater  range  of  healthful  action. 

230.  Don't  go  into  a  fit  if  dinner  is  not  ready 
at  the  instant.     A  routinist,  a  machine  man  who 
moves  along  in  the  same  rut  all  the  time,  is  a  nui- 
sance.    Our   habits   should    be   adapted    to   the 
changes   of  life,  to  the   peculiarities  of  the   con- 
stitution, and  the  varying  age  of   the  individual. 

231.  A  shower-bath  may  cure  at  forty;  when 
at  four-score  it  would  certainly  kill. 


52  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

232.  Nothing  should  be  applied  to  the  eye  or 
ear   stronger   than  lukewarm  water,  without  be- 
ing advised  by  a  physician,  for  if  once  destroyed 
they  can  never  be.)  repaired. 

233.  The  first  tooth  appears   about   the  sixth 
month  ;  in  three  years  all  the  first  set  are  cut ;  the 
second,  between  seven  and  twenty-one. 

234.  Picking  the  ears  with  a  sharper  or  smaller 
instrument  than  the  end  of  the  finger  is  a  perilous 
operation,  as  an  unlucky  jog  or  push  might  cause 
a  rupture. of  the  membrane,  the  vibration  of  which 
gives  rise  to  the  sensation  of  hearing. 

235.  To  insure  good,  sound,  strong,  and  beauti- 
ful teeth,  children  should   make   their  breakfast 
mainly  on  oatmeal  porridge  or  wheaten  grits  with 
milk,  from  the  age  of  three  years,  and  their  sup- 
per exclusively  of  the  same  material ;  as  these  are 
much  richer  in  bone  elements  and  dentine  than 
flour  or  any  other  kind  of  food. 

236.  The  man  who  eats  and  drinks  by  rule  will 
never   eat  and  drink  long.     The  amount  of  ali- 
ment taken  each  day,  is  better  regulated  by  in- 
stinct, because  it  is  greatly  modified  by  heat  and 
cold,  as  well  as  by  the  amount  of  labor  or  exercise 
performed. 

237.  No  writer,  however  gifted,   can  compose 
creditably,  for  a  longer  time  than  four  or  five 
hours  in  the  twenty-four  at  a  single  sitting ;  a  few 
turns  around  the  room  at   intervals'  of  thirty  or 
forty  minutes  would  improve  the  action  of  the 
brain. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  53 

238.  In  no   case  is  habitual   night  study  an 
economy  of  time. 

239.  Much  that  is  mischievous  has  been  written 
about  improving  every  moment,  and  the  criminal- 
ity of  wasting  time.     The  Almighty  "  rested  "  in 
his  work  of  creation,  and  so  must  the  creature 
man. 

240.  Marriage  is  the  natural  condition  of  man, 
and  without  it  no  man  or  woman  ever  feels  set- 
tled in  life. 

241.  While  women   should    not   marry   under 
twenty,  men  should  wait  until  twenty-five. 

242.  He  is  the  most  skillful  and  most  success- 
ful physician  in  any  case  of  sickness,  who  soonest 
discovers   what   nature  wants   to   do,   and  most 
promptly  adopts  the  best  means  for  rendering  her 
the  indicated  aid. 

243.  It  may  be  safely  said,  that  in  many  cases 
where  there  is  some  trouble  in  the  throat,  with  a 
slight  hacking  rather  than  an  actual  cough  during 
the  day  only,  it  is  of  dyspeptic  origin,  in  connec- 
tion with  improper  eating  or  a  disordered  liver, 
being  a  stomach  or  liver  cough,  and  to  expect  to 
cure  it  by  applications  to  the  throat  itself,  when 
the  cause  of  the  ailment  is  nearly  two  feet  away, 
is  irrational  and  the  treatment  must  fail. 

244.  No  one   should  write  when  very  hungry, 
nor  immediately  after  a  meal,  nor  under  the  influ- 
ence of  any  unnatural  stimulant,  nor  while  in  a 
passion,  for  in  the  last  case  he  is  pretty  certain  to 
make  a  fool  of  himself. 


54  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

245.  I  heard  a  great  man  in  my  college  days 
urge  from  the  pulpit  the  advantage  of  saving  spare 
moments,  by  always   having  a  book  at  hand   to 
read,  while  waiting  for  a  vehicle  or  visitor,  or  at 
the  table.     Such  was  his  custom.     He  died  early 
and  demented. v 

246.  Those  who  write  and  study  a  great  deal 
by  night,  will  impair  their  health  and  die  prema- 
turely, for  night  is  nature's  time  for  sleep  and  rest. 

247.  It  is  an  observed  fact,  that  the  children  of 
charitable  mission  schools  in  New  York  are  better 
and  more  wisely  clothed,  in  winter  than  those  of 
the  most  aristocratic  schools  ;  for  the  wives  of  the 
poor  will  manage  to  send  their  darlings  to  school 
with  warm  woolen  mittens   and   leggings  ;   they 
study  comfort,  the  others  show. 

248.  A  wise  system  of  surface  drainage  of  water 
will  banish  fever  and  ague  from  any  locality. 

249.  Many  costly  dwellings  in  New  York  city 
are  unfit  for  human  habitations  in  consequence  of 
the  noisome  condition  of  the  cellars.     The  most 
perfect  method  of  keeping  a  house  free  from  the 
bad  air  of  water-closets,  bath-rooms,  and  sinks  is 
to  have  an  iron  or  lead  tube  of  several  inches  in 
diameter,  connected   with  the  kitchen   chimney, 
which  being  heated  the  year  round,  creates  a  draft, 
and  thus  affords  a  constant  escape  at  the  top  of 
the  house  for  all  hurtful  gases. 

250.  If  every  human  being  in  the  world  was 
weighed,   the    average  would    be    one    hundred 
pounds. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  55 

251.  The  best  system  of  surface  drainage  is 
open  ditches    emptying    into    rapid    streams   of 
water ;  wherever   this   can   be   accomplished,   all 
epidemics  and  intermittent  diseases  will  at  once 
be  banished  from  the  country,  infallibly. 

252.  Cannibals  say  the  flesh  of  the  white  man 
is  bitter,  salty,  and  does  not  keep  ;  while  that  of  the 
negro  has  a  special  dainty  taste,  and  when  dried, 
keeps  a  long  time  ;   showing  that  the  difference 
in  color  of  the  skin  requires  a  difference  in  the 
whole  constitution  of  the  body,  and  very  likely  a 
different  cast  of  mind  and  character ;   the  white 
loves  cold  and  best  thrives  in  it ;  the  negro  luxu- 
riates in  warmth,  abounds  more  largely  in  sympa- 
thies, and  seems  by  his  instincts  and  ecstasies  to 
be  a  more  decidedly  religious  animal. 

253.  If  an  animal  is  fed  for  a  long  time  with 
aliments  which  contain  very  little  bone,'  the  con- 
stituents of  that  animal's  bones  are  the  same  as 
they  were  before,  although  the  bones  are  not  as 
large  ;  which  seems  to  show  the  wisdom  of  our 
mechanism,  that  it  is  capable  of   manufacturing 
what   it   wants,  whatever    may   be  the   material 
which  is  given  it  to  feed  upon.     Thus  is  it  that 
man  can  live  and  flourish  in  all  latitudes  and  in 
all  climes  and  countries. 

254.  You  cannot   be  with   some  persons   five 
minutes,  without  their  letting  you  know  that  they 
have  been  abroad ;   such  people  are  very  apt  to 
talk  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  all  the  company, 
—  that  is  their  object. 


56  HOW  TO  'LIVE  LONG. 

255.  The  quality  of  the  milk  and   the  butter 
follows  the  character  of  the  food  eaten  by  the  cow, 
and  it  must  be  that  the  character  of  the  physical 
constitution  of   the  child  is  shaped   by  the  milk 
which  it  draws  from  its  mother ;  and  as  the  milk 
of  an  enraged  mother  is  known  to  have  thrown 
her  infant  into  convulsions  within  an  hour,  by  im- 
pairing  the   action    of   the   brain,   the   strongest 
feelings  of  a  mother's  nature  are  appealed  to  to 
eat  and  live  in  reference  to  the  well-being  of  her 
child,  and  never  run  the  risk  of  allowing  it  to  feed 
at  the  breast  of  a  hireling  who  may  be  insane,  or 
scrofulous,  or  drunken,  or  depraved. 

256.  We  ought  to  live  five  times  as  long  as  it 
requires  to  get  our  growth.     We  ought  to  weigh 
twenty  times  as  much  at  thirty-five  as  on  the  day 
we  were  born  ;  a  two-pound  infant  has  lived. 

257.  At  thirty-five  men  weigh  most,  their  aver- 
age being  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
and  women  one  hundred  and  twenty,  with   the 
difference  that  the  weight   of  women   increases 
until  fifty,  when  their  average  is  a  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds. 

258.  A  most  palatable  drink  for  a  weak  stom- 
ach, is  a  pint  of  the  best  milk  and  a  pint  of  cold 
water,  adding  a  well-beaten  egg,  with  salt  to  suit. 

259.  All  prize  contests,  and  all  competitions  at 
public  examinations  at  schools,  are  pernicious  in 
all  their  connections,  are  useless  in  their  aims,  are 
immoral  in  their  preparation,  and  end  in  physical 
injury  both  to  body  and  brain. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  57 

260.  Some  of  the  severest  pangs  which  have 
ever  swept  across  the  human  heart,  have  been 
from  the  remembrance  of   harsh  words  said,  of 
unkind    things    done   to   those  who   hare   since 
passed   beyond,  and  we  yearn,  and   oh,  now  in- 
tensely, to  make  amends,  but  they  can  never  come 
back  to  witness  them. 

261.  Boisterous  and  loud  laughing  people,  and 
the  noisy,  are  always  vulgar. 

262.  Never  put  a  pin  in  your  mouth  for  an  in- 
stant ;  a  sudden  laugh  has  often  drawn  it  into  the 
wind-pipe  or  throat.     Twenty-three  years   ago  a 
lady  swallowed  three  pins  and  for  fifteen  years 
suffered  the  most  excruciating  pains,  ending  with 
the  pins  coming  out  at  the  joint  of  the  left  hip. 

263.  The  man  who  is  always  going  to  do  some- 
thing, never  succeeds  in  life. 

264.  One  cord  of  dry  hickory  wood  will  keep 
up  a  certain  amount  of  heat  for  one  hundred  days, 
pitch-pine  thirty-five,  and  a  ton  of  coal  ninety-one 
days. 

265.  Four  pounds  of  onions  contain  one  pound 
of  gluten,  which  is  the  most  nutritious  element  in 
wheat ;  hence  the  onion  is  an  economical  food  and 
gives  power  to  work. 

266.  Life  is  a  series  of  mistakes,  repentances, 
and  improvements.     We  seldom  do  the  same  thing 
twice  in  the  same  way :  at  twenty-five  we  repent 
the  mistakes  of  twenty.     As  we  grow  older,  we  are 
mistaking  and  repenting  still,  and  all  for  the  want 
of  more  mature  deliberation. 


58  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

267.  The  most  cultivated  persons  we  meet,  in- 
stinctively avoid  drawing  attention  to  themselves 
in  any  way. 

268.  ^Ve  are  at  a  disadvantage  in  a  foreign  land, 
and  yet  there  is  a  kind  of  fascination  to  many  in 
living  abroad  because  the  money  has  been  pro- 
vided before  we  left  home,  and  we  are  relieved  from 
the  details  of  business  and  housekeeping.     We  are 
more  retired,  because  those  around  us  do  not  feel 
sufficient  interest  in  us  to  notice  us  very  particu- 
larly, and  we  are  treated  with  more  deference,  it 
being  taken  for  granted  that  we  have  plenty  of 
money ;  and  then  again  we  escape  that  dreadful 

J^nurry  and  drive,  and  that  unceasing  striving  to 
keep  up  appearances  and  to  rise,  which  is  the  bane 
of  American  life. 

269.  It    is  very   certain   that    hereditary  influ- 
ences impart  the  dispositions,  tastes,  and  tenden- 
cies of  the  parent ;  yet  a  watchful,  judicious,  and 
persistent  attention  to  the  education  of  the  child, 
can  cultivate  such  as  are  good,  and  can  arrest, 
overcome,  and  eradicate  those  which  are  evil. 

270.  Whenever,  in  walking  fast,  especially  in 
cold  weather,  there  is  a  hurting  of  any  kind,  even 
the  slightest,  in  the  front  of  the  arms,  above  the 
elbows,  there  is  a  tendency  to  heart  disease  ;  and 
all  exercise  and  work  should  be  performed  with 
deliberation,  for  great  haste  is  not  only  hurtful 
but  is  dangerous. 

271.  To  eat  long  eat  slow ;  rapid  Caters   die 
early. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  59 

272.  Taking  a  single  week  in  February,  Toledo, 
Knoxville,  St.  Louis,  and  Chicago,  are  the  healthiest 
cities  in  the  United  States  for  that  month,  in  the 
order  of  their  naming ;  while  the  most  unhealthy 
are  Charleston,  Nashville,  Washington  City,  and 
New  York.     Toledo  gives  twelve  deaths  out  of  a 
thousand,  and   Charleston,   S.   C,  forty ;   at   the 
same  time,  if  the  average  deaths  of  a  year  are 
taken  at  these  same  places,  a  different  result  will 
be  noted.     From  its  water  shed  advantages,  New 
York  ought  to  be  one  of  the  healthiest  cities  in 
the  Union. 

273.  Houses    built    on   a   clay   soil   are   more 
healthy  than  those  built  on  sand,  if  on  an  eleva- 
tion, for  the  water  runs  off  from  the  clay,  the  sand 
absorbs  and  retains  it  underneath. 

274.  Dyspepsia  is  nearly  always  the  result  of 
too  short  an  interval  between  the  times  of  eat- 
ing ;  with  a  five  hours'  interval  the  disease  would 
become  a  rarity  in  the  next  generation.     If  this 
rule  of  five  hours   between   meals   and   nothing 
between,  were  to  be  rigidly  observed  from  the  age 
of  five  years,  dyspepsia  would  soon  become  an 
almost  unknown  malady. 

275.  Short  and  slow,  is  the  safest  step  for  all, 
especially  for  three-score  and  upwards. 

276.  Although  the  picture  of  an  object  on  the 
retina  is  upside  down,  the  optic  nerve  converges, 
passes  onward  to  the  brain  and  crosses  before  it 
gets  there,  hence  the  brain  takes  cognizance  of  its 
proper  position. 


60  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

277.  A  cribbing  horse  is  cured  by  compelling 
him  to  eat  from  a  trough  considerably  down  or 
below  a  horizontal  line  with  the  body  ;  let  him  eat 
from  a  manger  on  the  floor ;  but  men  should  eat 
with  an  erect  position  of  the  chest. 

278.  A   safe  plan  for  the  water  supply  of  a 
family  for  cooking  and  drinking  purposes,  is  to 
have  a  tight   cistern  above  ground,  and  convey 
into  it  the  water  falling  on  the  roof  of  the  dwell- 
ing or  other  buildings  through  a  box  of  sand  sev- 
eral yards  long.     If  the  cistern  is  under  ground, 
this  sand   box  should  be  inclosed  with  the  best 
cement  so  as  to  insure  no  water  coming  into  it 
from  contaminating  sources  ;  the  sand  acts  as  a 
filter,  and  should  half  fill  the  box,  which  should  be 
very  nearly  on  a  level,  else  the  sand  would  accu- 
mulate at  the  cistern  end  and  close  the  outlet,  or 
in  both  cases  the  long   sand  box  could  be  dis- 
pensed with,  by  letting  the  water  at  the  roof  fall 
into  a  large  covered  receptacle  partly  filled  with 
sand  and  gravel. 

279.  About  one  fifth  of  the  most  nutritious  and 
strengthening  portion  of  the  wheat  grain  attaches 
itself  to  the  bran  and  is  thrown  away  ;  all  which 
is  saved,  if  the  article  is  used  in  the  shape  of 
wheaten  grits. 

280.  The  most  valuable  part  of  the  common  po- 
tato is  immediately  under  the  outside  skin,  which 
is  peeled  off  and  thrown  to  the  pigs ;  if  baked  or 
boiled  and  only  the  Very  outside  skin  is  peeled  off, 
all  the  nutriment  is  saved. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  6 1 

281.  It  is  not  well  to  reprove  a  servant  or  child 
for  every  wrong  doing,  it   tends   to  make  them 
reckless  or  they  become  discouraged. 

282.  Plants,  like  dyspeptics,  may  be  dieted  into 
health  under  certain  conditions  :  if  too  much  wa- 
tered, or  too  much  fed,  manured,  or  stimulated,  the 
leaves  begin  to  drop  off ;  the  soil,  like  the  stomach, 
has  been  soured  ;  there  is  too  much  acid  ;  then 
take  out  the  plant,  crush  the  bed  of  soil  in  the 
hands,  allowing  the  outside  crust  to  fall  off,  and 
place  it  in  new  soil,  moderately  dry.     A  plant  may 
be  over-fed  as  a  man  may  be  ;  thus  it  is  that  new 
analogies  are  discovered  from  time  to  time  be- 
tween the  nature  and  habits  of  plants  and  animals 
and  man. 

283.  A   baked   potato  is  a  delicacy  ;  it  is  di- 
gested in  two  hours,  otherwise  an  hour  longer. 

284.  There  is  twice  as  much  nutriment  in  a 
pound  of  smoked  or  dried  bacon,  as  in  a  pound  of 
fresh  lean  beef.    Beef  loses  fifteen  per  cent,  in  the 
roasting ;   only  eleven  if  boiled.     Boiled   mutton 
loses  ten  per  cent. ;   roasted,  twenty-five. 

285.  Many  men  who  have  been  successful  in 
business,  begin  to  indulge  in  the  dream  of  retir- 
ing.    It  is  very  easy  to  retire  from,  but  it  is  just 
as  important  to  decide  wisely  what  ^  shall  be  re- 
tired to ;  if  it  is  to  idleness,  to  inactivity,  mental 
or    physical,   it   will    be   a  great   mistake.     The 
safest  method  of  retiring  from  business,  is  to  en- 
gage in  some  occupation  which  fills  up  the  time 
pretty  well,  and  which  shall  engage  a  new  set  of 
activities. 


62  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

286.  Persons  often  cough   half  a  night,  or  lay 
awake  for  hours  in  consequence  of  having  eaten 
something  which   did  not  agree  with  the  stom- 
ach,—  generally,  some  unusual  thing,  —  or  from 
having  eaten  a  late  or  hearty  supper,  or  having 
eaten  moderately,  but  while  greatly  fatigued. 

287.  When   a   person   has   any   uncomfortable 
sensation,  or  notices  anything  disagreeable  or  un- 
usual connected  with  the  bodily  habits  and  func- 
tions, it  is  best  to  think  back  and  endeavor  to  as- 
certain the  cause ;  as  the  first  step  in  the  cure  of 
all  maladies,  and  an  indispensable  step,  is  to  re- 
move the  cause,  and  that  cannot  be  done  unless  it 
is  first  clearly  ascertained  what  that  cause  is. 

288.  Never  eat  or  drink  a  new  or  rare  thing 
late  in  the  day,  or  just  before  going  to  church  or 
on  a  journey ;  it  may  disturb  the  system  incon- 
veniently. 

289.  Persons  subject  to  piles  should  avoid  using 
cushioned  seats  ;  and  night  and  morning  should 
flap  cold  water  against  the  parts  until  they  fairly 
ache  ;  and 'in  addition,  avoid  constipation. 

290.  Soft  corns  are  cured  by  using  buckskin 
protectors  ;  bathe   them   freely  in   warm   water ; 
never  pare  them.     Hard  corns  are  ordinarily  re- 
lieved by  soaking  the  feet  in  warm  water  night 
and  morning,  until  the  corn  is  so  soft  that  it  can 
be  picked   out  with   the  finger-nail ;    repeat   the 
operation  as  often  as  needed ;  never  cut  a  corn,  it 
is  dangerous  sometimes,  always   hardens   it,  and 
spreads  and  deepens  the  roots. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  63 

291.  Sprains  are  always   promptly  relieved  by 
allowing  the  coldest  water  to  fall  upon  the  part 
steadily,  until  no  discomfort  is  experienced.     Re- 
peat as  often  as  necessary  ;    keep  the   sprained 
joint  elevated  if  about  the  hands,  and  horizontal 
if  about  the  feet,  so  as  to  promote  the   flow  of 
blood  from  the  parts  by  gravity ;  and  live  for  a 
few  days  on  fruits  and  coarse  bread  mainly. 

292.  Wines  are  either  sparkling,  as  champagne  ; 
or  still,  as  others  ;  dry,  as  sherry  ;  sour,  as  hock  ; 
sweet,  as  port.    Dry  wines  have  the  most  alcohol ; 
the  sour  have  the  least  sugar,  the  sweet  have  the 
most  and  are  the  weakest ;  white  wines  are  made 
red  by  greater  pressure  of  the  skins  and  ferment- 
ation ;  but  the  use  of  any  of  them,  like  the  use  of 
cordials  and  bitters,  leads  to  drunkenness.    "  Wine 
and  oil "  was  the  great  cure-all  of  the  ancients : 
the  wine  to  elevate,  sustain,  and  strengthen  ;  the 
oil   to  feed,  nourish,  invigorate,  and  warm  ;  and 
these    are    the   points   at   which   the   successful 
physician  aims  to-day. 

293.  Fulton  and  the  locomotive  ;  Morse  and  the 
telegraph  :  the  one  annihilates  space,  the   other 
time,  thus  hastening  the  coming  of  the  nations 
together,  —  the  grandest  material  agents  of  civili- 
zation. 

294.  Better  rule  by  persuasion  than  force. 

295.  The  eye  and  the  ear  are  too  delicate  in 
their  construction  to  be  tampered  with  ;  hence  it  is 
best  when  they  are  out  of  order  to  consult  a  com- 
petent, experienced,  and  skillful  physician. 


64  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

296.  It  is  one  of  the  million  evidences  of  Divine 
love  and  wisdom  that  gases,  airs,  and  corrupting 
substances  which  are  injurious  to  the  health,  have 
such  a  disagreeable  odor  as  to  compel  their  re- 
moval.   This  noxious  air  has  two  elements  :  one  is 
the  odor,  to  notify  us  of  its  presence ;  while  the 
other  is  the  poisonous  ingredient,  the  seed  of  the 
disease,  called  a  germ,  or  spore,  or  cell.    Hence  the 
real  efficient  purifier  of  a  bad  air,  whether  it  be 
called    a    deodorizer,   antiseptic,   or    disinfectant, 
should  have  the  quality  of  taking  away  the  bad 
smell,  as  will  water  to  which  ten  per  cent,  of  cop- 
peras has  been  added.     Two  per  cent,  of   pure 
carbolic   acid    added   to  water  gives   a  mixture 
which  will  arrest  decay  and  destroy  the  disease- 
producing  element.     The  two  together  make  the 
cheapest  and  best  deodorizing  disinfectant. 

297.  In  ordinary  conversation  when  a  man  says 
"  I  saw  it,"  there  is  a  tangibility  and  a  force  about 
it  which  does  not  belong  to  the  mere  sentimental 
expression  of  the  same  idea ;  for  there  is  a  proof 
about  it,  a  demonstration,  which  gives  it  a  con- 
vincing power ;  but  about  health  and  disease,  it  is 
never  a  safe  guide  out  of  professional  hands,  be- 
cause neither  the  condition,  the  constitution,  nor 
the  surroundings  of  any  two  persons  are  ever  ex- 
actly alike.    The  wearied  donkey  felt  relieved  after 
crossing  a  stream,  for  he  was  loaded  with  salt ; 
his  companion,  quite  as  weary,  was  encouraged  to 
follow,  but  carrying  a  sack  of  wool,  he  sank  at  the 
edge  of  the  other  shore. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  6$ 

298.  He  is  not  more  the  world's  benefactor  who 
causes  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  only 
one  grew  before,  than  he  who  expresses  a  new 
truth,  or  proclaims  an   old    one   in    more  taking 
words  than  any  one  had  ever  done  previously. 

299.  The  proper  management  of  the  feet  is  of 
the  first  importance  to  the  comfort  and  health  of 
all :  they  should  be  washed  every  night  in  sum- 
mer, and  twice  a  week  in  winter ;  stockings  and 
shoes  should  have  several  hours'  airing  in  the  sun- 
shine, when  practicable,  after  each  wearing. 

300.  Acids  always  injure  the  teeth,  pure  sweets 
never  do. 

301.  To  insure  purity  of  water  for  household 
purposes  and  to  come  within  the  means  of  the 
masses,  wooden   cisterns   should   be   constructed 
above  ground,  to  be  filled  through  pipes  conveying 
water  from  the  house  roof,  falling  on  a  layer  of 
sand  a  foot  or  two  deep  at  the  top  of  the  cistern, 
to  be  renewed  several  times  a  year  if  necessary  ; 
the  water  is  thus  filtered  and  is  perfectly  free  from 
all  sources  of  contamination. 

302.  In  dyspepsia  the  whole  character  of  the 
individual  gradually  changes  for  the  worse :  the 
most  placid  man  grows  petulant  and  irritable ;  the 
loving  heart   becomes   estranged    by  groundless 
suspicions  ;  the  cheery  face  wears  an  oppressive 
sadness  ;  while  all  that  was  once  joyous  and  hope- 
ful and  glad  goes  out  at  length  into  the  night  of 
settled  melancholy,  confirmed  madness,  or  terrible 
suicide. 

5 


66  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

303.  Tooth  powders  never  preserve  but  always 
injure   the   teeth   in   proportion   as   they   whiten 
them.     If  a  powder  is  never  used,  the  teeth  may 
not  be  so  white,  but  if  kept  clean  with  a  brush 
and  cold  water  they  will  last  longer. 

304.  The  appetite  is  either  natural  or  artificial. 
The  natural   is   always  safe  ;  the  artificial   is  al- 
ways dangerous.     Bread  and  water  are  examples 
of  the  former ;  liquor  and  tobacco  of  the  latter. 
The  natural  has  five  characteristics  :    ist.  About 
the  same  amount  of  bread  and  butter  satisfies  us 
every  day  for  years.     2d.  We  do  not  want  bread 
and  butter  oftener  now  than  years  ago.     3d.  Any 
specified  amount  satisfies  for  as  long  a  time  to-day 
as  it  did  at  any  previous  time.     4th.  A  pound  of 
bread  will  give  as  much  satisfaction  in  childhood 
as  at  fourscore.     5th.  We  take  bread  three  times 
a  day  and  never  get  tired  of  it,  and  its  use  is  not 
followed   by  any  unpleasant  symptom.     Tobacco 
and  stimulating  drinks  are  the  reverse  in  all  points, 
the  appetite  for  them  being  artificial. 

305.  The  best  way  of   imparting  religious  in- 
struction  to  the  young,  so  as   to  accomplish  an 
unmixed   good,  is   to   invite   by  appeal,  example, 
entreaty,     encouragement.      The     Master     said, 
«  Come." 

306.  In    recovering  from    any   sickness :    ist. 
Keep    abundantly    and    comfortably   warm.     2d. 
Studiously  avoid  taking  cold.     3d.  Watch  against 
over  exercise.     4th.  Eat  moderately  and   at  reg- 
ular intervals,  of  plain,  nourishing  food. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  6/ 

307.  Much  has  been  written  and  more  said 
about  the  ruddy  faces  and   happy  health  of  the 
barefooted,  frowsy-headed,  ragged,  and  begrimed 
children  of  the  poor.     Many  are  almost  persuaded 
that  "  dirt  is  healthy,"  but  careful  and  close  obser- 
vation will  always  show  that  of  an  equal  number 
of  children  of  the  same  age,  one  hundred  of  the 
poor  die,  but  only  fifty  of  the  rich ;  so  great  is  the 
difference  between  being  comfortably  clothed  and 
fed  and  housed,  and  otherwise  well  cared  for  and 
having  to  "  take  things  as  they  come,"  and  subject 
to  want  and  exposure  and  privation. 

308.  Charles    Lamb    used    to   meet  a   bright, 
cheery  little    school-girl   every  morning,    as    he 
went  out  for  the  business  of  the  day.     Suddenly 
he  missed  her  and  found  she  was   dead  ;   and 
wrote :  — 

"  My  sprightly  neighbor  gone  before, 
Shall  we  not  meet  as  heretofore 

Some  sunny  morning  ?  " 

309.  The  purest   sources  of  water  supply  for 
domestic  purposes  are  artesian  wells  or  cisterns 
above  ground,  to  receive  the  water  from  the  roofs 
of  houses.     Water  from  wells   and  springs   and 
rivers  is  becoming  more  and  more  contaminated, 
less  and  less  fit  for  cooking  and  drinking  as  popu- 
lation increases. 

3 10.  Many  persons  have  a  great  horror  of  night 
air,  as  if  there  were  something  deadly  in  it.     But' 
in-door  air  is  only  the  air  of  out-doors  impregnated 
with  the  odors  of  kitchen,  cellar,  and  other  sources 
of  impurity. 


68  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

311.  Nature    often    cures    consumption,   man 
seldom. 

312.  If  there  be  no  recognition  hereafter  of  the 
loved  and  lost,  whence  the  universal  desire  and 
hope  and  longing  to  be  buried   beside  the  de- 
parted. 

"  One  only  word  she  uttered 

While  life  was  ebbing  fast : 
'  Sleep  by  my  side,  dear  mother, 

And  rise  with  me  at  last.'  " 

313.  One  of  the  saddest  sights  in  nature  is  to 
see  an  old  person  grow  more  and  more  irritable  and 
complaining  and  fretful  as   years  increase  ;  with 
less  of  human  sympathies  day  by  day  ;  less  for- 
bearance with  the  faults  and  foibles  of  mankind ; 
pronouncing  hasty  and   harsh  judgments  on  the 
actions   of   others ;   attributing  selfish  or  sinister 
motives  to  all  that  is  said  and  done,  as  if  under 
the  whole  heaven  there  was  nothing  true,  nothing 
sincere,  nothing  generous,  nothing  lovely.     Surely 
it  were  better  for  that  man  if  he  had  never  been 
born  :  for  there   is  no   sunshine   in  his  sky,   no 
goodness  in  his  face,  no  joy  in  his  heart,  and  noth- 
ing genial  in  his  whole  nature. 

314.  A  talented   editor  of  a  popular  magazine 
rode  all  day,  some  ten  years  ago,  eating  nothing 
since  breakfast,  taking  a  very  hearty  dinner  late 
in  the   night  when   hungry  and  fatigued.     Soon 
after  he  went  to  bed,  and  has  not  got  up  yet.     So 
if  you  want  to  get  up  perfectly  well  any  morning, 
do  not  eat  a  hearty  supper  late  at  night  when 
weak,  tired,  and  exhausted. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  69 

315.  If  a  man  has  consumption,  and  a  running 
sore  breaks  out  on  any  part  of  the  body  spontane- 
ously, the  disease  is  generally  arrested  and  some- 
times cured.     This  led  to  the  conclusion  that  if 
an  artificial  sore  was  induced,  it  would  cure  too, 
but  it  never  does. 

316.  The  time  may  come,  and  at  no  very  dis- 
tant day,  when  eating  will   be  regulated   by  the 
thermometer.     We  put  on   more   clothing  when 
we  go  out  of  doors,  if   there  is  a  difference   of 
twenty  degrees  or  more  in  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere,  in  order  to  keep  the  heat  within  us  and 
to  keep  off  the  colder  air.     We  are  kept  warm  by 
the  food  we  eat,  it  is  the  fuel  of  our  bodies.     We  no 
more  need  as  much  fuel  in  them  in  a  warm  day, 
as  if  it  were  many  degrees  colder,  than  we  would 
need  a  large  fire  in  summer,  for  this  would  gener- 
ate more  heat  within  us  than  we  need,  and  that  is 
internal  fever  which  dries  the  skin,  closes  the  pores, 
and  prevents  the  evaporation  and  escape  of  those 
waste  matters,  which  if  retained  in  the  body  would 
poison  all  the  blood.     It  was  a  desire  to  remove 
this  poison  from  the  body  which  led  our  grand- 
mothers to  administer  so  freely  the  sassafras  and 
catnip-tea  and  powdered  brimstone  to  children,  in 
the  spring  of  the  year,  —  a  result  of   eating  as 
heartily  in  the  warming  April  and  May  as  in  the 
previous  colder  weather. 

317.  In  work  or  exercise  for  health,  it  is  more 
economical  in  the  end  to  note  how  little  has  been 
done  in  an  hour,  than  how  much. 


7O  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

3 1 8.  If  we  sleep  in  a  close  room,  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  which  escapes  from  the  lungs  at  each  ex- 
piration is  absorbed  by  the  moisture  of  the  breath, 
and  uniting  with  other  impure  gases  which  are  al- 
ways found   in  close  rooms,  becomes  heavy  and 
settles  on  the  floor,  especially  if  the  apartment  is 
cold  ;  hence  the  nearer  the  floor  we  sleep  in  cold 
weather   the   more   impure   is   the   air.     In   cold 
weather  especially,  it  is  better  and  safer  to  keep 
the   mouth   closed   and  to   breathe  through   the 
nostrils,  for  thus,  by  compelling  the  air  to  pass 
into  the  lungs  through  the  circuit  of  the  head,  it 
is  warmed  before  it  reaches  the  lungs,  inducing, 
deeper   breathing,    thus   distending    them    more 
fully  and  causing   a  more  healthful  development 
of  the  chest ;  in  addition,  the  hairs  at  the  entrance 
of  the  nostrils  serve  to  act  as  a  strainer  which  re- 
tains  very   many   atmospheric   impurities,   while 
others  are  detained  by  coming  in  contact  with  the 
moist  surfaces  of  the  air  passages,  to  be  cast  out 
of  the  system  at  those  frequent  clearings  of  the 
nose  of  its  contents,  which  while  they  are  necessary 
to  be  passed  out  of  the  body  do  in  that  very  pas- 
sage thrust  out  before  them  myriads  of  atoms  of 
matter  and  of  dust  and  other  things,  which  if  they 
had  not  thus  been  disposed  of  would  have  passed 
into  the  blood  and  poisoned  it. 

319.  It  is  with  the  literary  as  with  other  pro- 
fessions and   callings  in  life  :   only  the  very  few 
reach  the  heights ;  but  the  end  is  worthy  of  an 
undying  aim. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  7 1 

320.  As  there  are  so  many  circumstances  in  life 
which  expose  us  to  be  burned  or  scalded,  it  is  well 
to  know  that  spreading  oil  of  peppermint  over  the 
injured  part  gives  immediate  relief,  and  causes  a 
speedy  healing  without  leaving  a  scar.     Until  this 
remedy  can  be  obtained,  keep  the  burned  part  un- 
der water,  which  instantly  removes  all  pain. 

321.  The   sufferings  of  some  men  have  made 
their  names  immortal,  by  spurring  them  to  almost 
superhuman    exertions   to   obtain   relief.      With- 
out such  stimulus,  their  names  would  never  have 
passed  into  history,  as  witness  Cervantes,  Otway, 
Johnson,  Goldsmith,   Butler,    Campbell,   Dryden, 
and  others,  all  of  whom  many  a  time  hungered, 
and  one  at  least  starved  to  death.     Let  this  fact  be 
a  stimulus  to  any  one  who  may  chance  to  be  found 
in  the  "  same  condemnation,"  to  try  on,  try  ever, 
and  die  a  trying,  in  any  great  accomplishment. 

322.  Indomitable  persistence  is  the  father  of  all 
great  successes. 

323.  Both  for  sick  and  well,  it  is  just  as  unwise 
to  measure  and  weigh  each  meal  every  day,  as  it 
would  be  to  wear  the  same  amount  of  clothing 
or  to  consume  the   same   amount   of  fuel   every 
day  in  the  year.     In  ordinary  health,  eat  accord- 
ing to  the  natural  appetite  in  quality  and  quantity, 
and  not  according  to  artificial  rules  and  regula- 
tions. 

324.  It  is  steady,  continuous  exercise  in  the  open 
air,  short  of  much  fatigue,  which  is  so  beneficial 
in  promoting  health. 


72  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

325.  When  a  person  has  a  slight  cough  in  the 
morning  on  rising,  for   months  together,  and   is 
easily   put   out   of    breath,  that   is,   instinctively 
moves  slower  on  going  up-stairs  or  ascending  a 
hill,  consumption  has  begun,  if  the  pulse  is  al- 
ways above  ninety  beats  in  a  minute. 

326.  When  there  is  any  discomfort  after  eating, 
it  is  because  the  food  eaten  does  not  "  agree  "  with 
the  stomach  ;  that  is,  it  cannot  be  digested,  be- 
cause too  much  has  been  taken,  or  some  particular 
article  is  indigestible.    Most  generally  the  error  is 
in  quantity  not  quality. 

327.  Sometimes  persons  are  very  fond  of  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  food,  and  yet  as  sure  as  they  eat 
it,  discomfort  is  experienced.     Take  less  and  less 
every  day,  until  you  come  to  an  amount  which  is 
not  followed  by  any  discomfort  whatever ;   that 
amount  is  healthy  for  you,  and  since  you  crave  it 
it  may  be  because  the  system  needs  some  of  the 
elements  which  it  contains. 

328.  An  article  of  food  may  not  agree  with  you 
to-day,  and  yet  it  may  in  a  month  or  two,  or  at 
a  different  season  of  the  year,  or  under  different 
surroundings.     Do  not  make  a  god  of  your  belly, 
but  accustom  yourself  to  think  of  what  you  shall 
eat,  only  when  the   time  for   eating   comes.     A 
glutton  may  do  otherwise,  a  man  not. 

329.  Many  a  pie  has  cost  an  industrious  hus- 
band a  hundred   dollars   in   doctors'   bills ;    and 
many  a  human  life  has  paid  for  an  apple  dump- 
ling. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  73 

330.  Many  of  our  bad  colds,  even  of   a  fatal 
form,  are  taken  in  the  house  and  not  out  of  doors, 
by  removing  parts  of  clothing  too  soon  after  com- 
ing into  the  house  from  a  walk  or  other  exercise  ; 
or  from  lying  down  on  a  sofa  or  a  bed  without 
some  extra  covering,  however  warm  the  weather ; 
or  when  nearly  exhausted  from  having  engaged 
too  vigorously  in  domestic  avocations. 

331.  When  our  wives  get  to  work,  they  go  about 
it  too  violently  altogether,  keep  at  it  too   long; 
and   before  they  know  it   they  are   perfectly  ex- 
hausted,  over-heated,   lie  down   uncovered,   take 
cold,  and  are  "  laid  up  "  for  days  and  weeks  after- 
wards. 

332.  Nature's  instincts  are  often  a  better  guide 
for  food  than  reason,  as  she  craves  that,  the  distinc- 
tive elements  of  which  are  needed  in  the  system. 

333.  Those  in  ordinary  health  should  not  have 
a  pillow  any  higher  than  will  keep  the  head  more 
than  three  inches  above  a  horizontal  line,  or  above 
the  level  of  the  body,  because  that  position  admits 
of  the  most  easy  and  natural  and  equable  circula- 
tion, of  the  blood,  and  keeps  both  lungs  and  heart 
less  pressed  upon  and  confined.     If  the  head  is 
high,  it  makes  the  body  stoop-shouldered  in  bed, 
bends  the  chin  on  the   breast   and   throws   the 
arms  inwards,  each  of   these  tending   to  confine 
the  chest. 

334.  A  little  paradise  on  earth  is  that  household  : 
father,   mother,   children,   all    endeavoring   every 
day  to  do  what  is  possible  to  make  home  happy. 


74  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

335.  No  man's  likes  or  dislikes  for  a  particular 
article  of  food  should  be  made  a  rule  for  another. 

336.  The  lungs  of  an  ordinary  man  contain  over 
half  a  thousand  millions  of  air-cells  ;  if  these  were 
cut  open  and  spread  on  a  wall,  they  would  cover 
a  space  of  six  feet  each  way,  representing  the  sur- 
face which  is  exposed  to  the  air  at  every  breath. 
No  wonder  if  that  air  is  very  cold  it  chills  the  whole 
body  and  causes  pneumonia,  and  if  impure,  poisons 
the  whole  body  and  quickly  induces  disease. 

337.  Under   all   ordinary   circumstances,  night 
air  is  as  healthy  as  day  air,  if  the  person  is  not 
weak,  or  hungry,  or  chilly. 

338.  Reasoning  from   analogy,   men   ought  to 
live  a  century,  as  it  seems  to  be  a  general  law  in 
the  animal  creation  that  life  should  be  five  times 
the  period  required  for  growth.     Many  of  the  in- 
sect tribes  mature  and  fructify  in  an  hour  and  die 
before  the  close  of  day.     A  dog  grows  for  two 
years  and  lives  eight ;  an  ox  grows  for  four  years 
and  lives  sixteen ;  a  horse  grows  for  five  years 
and  lives  twenty-five  ;  a  camel  grows  for   eight 
years   and  lives  forty;  a  man   grows  for  twenty 
years  and  should  live  to  one  hundred. 

339.  It  is  a  recognized  fact  in  physiology  that 
the  longer  a  child  is  in  getting  its  full  growth  the 
longer  it  will  live.    "  Early  ripe  early  rot "  is  almost 
a  proverb.     Children  who  grow  rapidly  are  always 
weakly. 

340.  In  France  the  rich  men  average   twelve 
years  of  life  longer  than  the  poor. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  75 

341.  Observation  in  all  civilized  countries,  shows 
that  the  well-to-do  live  eleven  years  longer  than 
those   who   have   to   work   for  their  daily  bread. 
Those  who  can  afford  to  work  leisurely  in-doors 
outlive  those  who  have  to  work  hard  out  of  doors 
by  ten  or  fifteen  years  ;  and  if  there  was  no  Sab- 
bath it  is  very  clear  that  the  poor  would  not  live 
as  long  as  they  do  now. 

342.  Whether  imprisoned  by  the  power  of  man 
or  the  power  of  disease,  the  human  mind  is  capa- 
ble  of  rising  above  its  surrounding  and  making 
itself  immortal.     Bunyan  dreamed  his  "Pilgrim's 
Progress  "  behind  iron  bars.     Of  the  same  origin 
was  Penn's  "  No  Cross  No  Crown,"  and  Raleigh's 
"  History  of  the  World  ; "  while  from  a  sick  room 
came  the  greatest  works  of  Calvin,  the  victim  of 
"  nine  diseases,"  wife  dead  and  children  all  gone 
before  ;  and  Milton,  too,  old  and  poor  and  blind, 
deserted  by  his  wife,  his  daughters  uncultivated, 
unaffectionate,  unsympathetic,  was   compelled   to 
live  that  life  of   meditative  solitude,  from  which 
has  come  the  greatest  human  productions. 

343.  Children  can  never  know,  until  themselves 
fathers  and  mothers,  how  large  a  gratification  the 
smallest  attentions  give  a  parent's  heart. 

344.  If  done  at  all,  let  the  request  of  another  be 
granted  with  your  whole   heart,  —  it  doubles  its 
value  to  the  receiver. 

345.  It  is  deliberate,  steady,  continuous   labor 
which   brings   health    and   strength  and  a  good 
digestion. 


76  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

346.  Few  things  so  hurt  a  parent's  feelings  as  a 
child's  unwilling  obedience. 

347.  Persons  in  good  health  should  not  eat  any 
article  of  food  simply  because  another  says  it  is 
healthy,  nor  refrain  because  it  is  considered  un- 
healthy.    Each  man  must  be  a  rule  for  himself. 

348.  Persons  subject  to  fullness  in  the  head,  or 
a  "rush  of  blood,"  should   sleep  with   the   head 
elevated ;  as  also  nervous  persons,  and  those  who 
are   restless   and  wakeful,   because   there   is   too 
much   blood   in  the   brain,  and  in  that  position, 
gravitation  invites  it  downward  and  prevents  its 
easy  going  there. 

349.  In  a  clear  frosty  morning,  the  breath,  as  it 
escapes  from  us,  is  seen  to  rise  upward  at  once 
and   goes   toward   the   clouds;  it  is  loaded  with 
carbonic  acid   gas,  a  deadly  poison.     Suppose  it 
was  heavy  instead  of  light,  it  would  settle  on  the 
earth  and  we  would  die  in  a  day. 

350.  A  cultivated  and  well  handled  thorough- 
bred oyster  is  as  much  superior  to  the  kind  com- 
monly had  in  the  market,  as  a  Bartlett  pear,  which 
almost  melts  in  the  mouth,  is  superior  to  a  scrub 
seedling. 

351.  It  is  a  good  gait  for  a  man  to  walk  four 
miles  an  hour.     A  horse  may  run  half  a  mile  in 
forty  seconds,  a  locomotive  a  mile  in  a  minute, 
but  the  velocity  of  a  steam  rail  saw  at  its  circum- 
ference at  Sheffield,  England,  is  equal  to  eighty- 
six  thousand  feet  a  minute,  or  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  an  hour. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  77 

352.  Violent  exercise  is  always   hurtful.     It  is 
steady,  persistent  work,  which  brings  roses  to  the 
cheek,  soundness  to  the  sleep,  and  an  appetite  to 
the  stomach. 

353.  The    great    mass    of    consumptives    die 
under   thirty  ;  and   as   the  disease  averages  two 
years    after    a   cough    has   been    established,   it 
clearly  follows  that  the  seeds  of  the  disease  are 
sown  in  a  majority  of  cases  during  the  "  teens  " 
of  life,  owing  to  the  imprudence,  thoughtlessness, 
and  ignorance  of  the  young. 

354.  As   different    soils   require   different  fer- 
tilizers,  so    different    persons    require    different 
kinds  of  food,  because  the  system  needs  the  ele- 
ment peculiar  to  that  food  ;   hence  the  different 
tastes   and    "  likings"  of   people.     If  every   one 
wanted  the  same  article,  the  world  could  not  sup- 
ply enough  of  it. 

355.  For  the  maintenance  of   vigorous  health, 
out-door  exercise  is  worth  more  than  all  medicine. 
Not  the  less  necessary  because  it  rains.     Hence, 
if  it  rains  take  an  umbrella  and  let  it  rain  on.     If 
it   is   cold,  walk   or  work   the   harder.     If  it  is 
windy,  turn  round  and  walk  the  other  way.     If  it 
rains,  hails,  snows,  and  blows  all  at  once,  then  re- 
main in  doors,  and  for  that  day  at  least  live  on 
bread  and  fruits,  then  you  will  not  need  the  ex- 
ercise. 

356.  To  impute   sinister   motives  is   the  most 
ungenerous   of  all   human  traits  ;  and  it  is  said, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  judge." 


78  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

357.  Some  persons  in   the  pursuit  of  health, 
almost   scrub   the   skin   off  every  morning,   trot 
twenty  miles  a  day,  engage  for   hours   in  imag- 
inary fisticuffs,  climb  greased  poles  at  the  gym- 
nasium, turn  double  somersaults,  ape  impossible 
monkey   capers,  parboil   themselves   in   Turkish 
steam-baths,  and  lift  every  day  the  weight  of  two 
elephants,  —  and  all  this  to  be  able  to  eat  and  di- 
gest a  more  enormous  dinner.    It  would  be  greatly 
better  to  take  a  moderate,  plain  meal,  and  save 
the  time  expended  in  all  that  tomfoolery. 

358.  Neither  the  age  nor  the  race  is  deterior- 
ating  either  in   physical   stature,   bodily  endur- 
ance, or  mental  power.     Palmerston  and  Vander- 
bilt,  Rothschild   and   Drew,  Thurlow  Weed  and 
William   B.  Astor,  are  not   as   old  at  eighty,  as 
King   David  was  when   ten   years   their  junior. 
Human  life  doubles  the  average  of  the  times  of 
the  "  Good  Queen  Bess."     Napoleon  diminished 
the  stature  of  France  to  less  than  five  feet  three ; 
it  has  now  returned  to  its  original  average  of  sev- 
eral inches  taller. 

359.  Much  is  said  of  the  strife  of  the  age,  of 
high  pressure  times  ;  but  it  is   because  there  is 
more  to  be  done  that  men  hurry  so  ;  yet  it  is  so 
much  more  easily  done,  that  it  does  not  require 
half  the  time  to  do  double  work,  and  men  can 
afford  to  go  to  bed  earlier  and  get  up  .later,  and 
have  twice  as  much  done  at  sundown.     Men  work 
harder,  but  rest  more,  hence  average  better  health 
and  longer  lives. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  79 

360.  Debt  is  a  fire  which  will  consume  your 
substance,  a  viper  which   will  poison   your  life, 
a  hyena  which  will  eat  out  your  very  entrails  ;  it 
is  a  heart  without  a  joy,  a  face  without  a  smile, 
a  world  without  a  sun. 

361.  The  motives  which  the  mean  man  attrib- 
utes to  the  actions  of  another,  are  the  measure  of 
his  own. 

362.  It  is  an  incalculable  cruelty  to  hold  out  a 
hope  of  help  to  another  when  you  have  no  idea 
of  affording  any. 

363.  Law  is  everywhere  moral   and  physical. 
There  is  even  a  law  of  accidents,  to  the  extent 
that  about  the    same    number  occur   during  a 
specified   time,  in  proportion  to  the   population, 
whether   suicides,  sun-spots,  commercial   panics, 
sickness,  or  death.     They  are  wise  who  make  it  a 
point  to  study  the  laws  of  life  and  being. 

364.  Disinfection  has  to  meet  two  evils :  miasms, 
which   are  poisonous  gases   or  emanations,  and 
contagions,  from  an  atmosphere  impregnated  with 
germ   cells,   as   the   spores   of   yeast   and   fungi. 
Copperas  meets  the  former,  carbolic  acid  the  lat- 
ter ;  hence  a  combination  of  the  two  is  the  most 
efficient  disinfectant,  and  the  cheapest. 

365.  In  almost  all  forms  of  ordinary  sickness 
and  accidental  woundings,  the  very  first  things  to 
be  secured  are  rest,  warmth,  and  quietude.     Seri- 
ously injure  an  animal,  and  it  at  once  retires  from 
sight  and  lays  down  and  rests  in  a  warm  place. 
Thus  instinct  teaches  reason. 


8O  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

366.  No  human  habitation  ought  to  have  a  cel- 
lar  under  it,  because  it  is  universally  made  the 
receptacle  of  every  sort  of  cast-offs   and   refuse 
of  iron,  wood,  shoes,  clothing,  ashes,  bones,  and 
vegetables  ;  these  rust,  decompose,  and  rot,  send- 
ing their  fumes  upward  through  the  floor  to  poi- 
son the  atmosphere  of  every  room  in  the  house, 
aggravated   by  the   dampness    of  the    cellar,  too 
many   of   which   have   standing   water   in    them 
the  year  round,  and   are  without   the  means   of 
adequate  ventilation. 

367.  Ozone  is  in  its  nature  an  intensified  oxy- 
gen, and  burns  up  all  poisonous  and  hurtful  in- 
gredients of  the  air.     All   know  that  the  air  of 
the  country  is  purer  than  the  air  of  the  town.     It 
is   a  late   discovery  that   all   flowers   and   green 
plants  generate  immense   quantities  of  ozone  in 
the   sunshine,  hence  the   tiniest  flower-pot   in   a 
dwelling   is  to   the   extent   of    its   size   a  health 
promoter  and  a  life  preserver.     They  are  wise 
who    have   green    plants    and    beautiful   flowers 
growing   on   every   available    space    about   their 
dwellings. 

368.  Soil  saturation  is  the  fruitful  cause  of  in- 
termittent, remittent,  typhoid,  and  scarlet  fevers, 
as  well  as  diphtheria,  all  of  which  therefore  are 
preventable  diseases.     Hence  the  communities  in 
which  they  prevail  are  responsible  for  their  exist- 
ence in  all  cases,  because  if  the  ground  was  prop- 
erly drained  and  thereby  kept  dryer,  these  mal- 
adies  would   be   unknown,   except   in   individual 
cases  from  accidental  or  special  causes. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  8 1 

369.  Hard  thinking  tires  the  body  more  than 
hard  work. 

370.  It  is  becoming  more  and  more  noticeable, 
that  cities   and  large  towns,  which  are  supplied 
with  water  for   drinking   and  cooking   purposes 
from  lakes,  rivers,  and  creeks  at  a  distance,  are 
less   affected    by  zymotic   diseases,  which   arise 
from  filth,  than  small   towns  and  thickly  settled 
neighborhoods   which   are   dependent   on    spring 
or  well  water,  because   the  soakage  from   barns, 
stables,  and  privies   finds   its  way  into  them  to 
pollute,  to  poison,  and  to  destroy. 

371.  It  is  said  that  circumstances  make  men, 
but  it  is  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  a  man  makes 
circumstances. 

372.  The  man  who  has  the  power  of  success, 
is  he  who  controls  circumstances,  instead  of  al- 
lowing them  to  control  him. 

373.  Instead   of  submitting   to  circumstances, 
our  invincible   determination   shoul'd   be   to   rise 
superior  to  them,  and  use  them  at  will. 

374.  The  young  man  who  thinks  of  taking  a 
short   cut   to   fortune,  should   deliberately   write 
down  the  names  of  a  dozen  of  our  richest  men,  and 
he  will  find  that  the  largest  part  of  the  wealth  of 
the  Astors  and  Browns  and  Stewarts  and  Vander- 
bilts,  was  accumulated  after  they  had  passed  their 
fiftieth  year. 

375.  In  warm  weather,  the  longer  you  can  put 
off  drinking  water  in  the  forenoon,  the  better  you 
will  feel  at  night. 


82  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

376.  He  who  ingloriously  waits  for  something 
to  turn  up,  may  have  his  expectations  realized  in 
the  next  century  ;  but  he  is  the  great  captain  who 
makes  things  turn  up. 

377.  Take   down   the   names   of  a  dozen  men 
who,  by  a  fortunate  turn  in   stocks,  were   made 
millionaires  in  a  day.     Some  are  dead,  some  have 
been   sent   to   an   asylum,  most   are  poor,  none 
really  rich. 

378.  To  succeed  in  life,  that  is,  to  make  money 
and   an   honorable   name,  a  man  must  be  brave 
enough  to  attempt  to  overcome  any  obstacle  pre- 
sented ;  hopeful  enough  to  scout,  rout,   and   an- 
nihilate   discouragements ;    patient  as  Job,   and 
persistent  as  a  bull-dog's  clutch. 

379.  The  six  cardinal  "  don'ts  "  are,  don't  drink, 
chew,  smoke,  swear,  deceive,  nor  go  security. 

380.  Ice  as  a  remedy,  eaten  and  swallowed  in 
lumps,  is  the  safest  and  best  method  of  quenching 
great  thirst  in  health  or  disease  ;   pounded   and 
applied  in  a  half  filled  bag,  is  the  quickest  relief 
in  inflammation  of  the  brain,  or  any  part  of  the 
body ;  and  in  the  form  of  the  coldest  water  used 
as  an  injection,  gives  instant  relief  and  speedy  cure 
to  all  forms  of  diarrhoea  and  dysentery. 

381.  The  man  who  makes  it  the  supreme  aim 
of    his    existence   to   accumulate  wealth,  and   to 
clutch  it  to  his  bosom  with  an  idolatry  of  love, 
until   death  releases   the   grasp,  has   missed   the 
great  end  of  his  being,  —  preparation  for  heav- 
en, —  and  has  lost  his  soul. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  83 

382.  Ice-water  is   a  comfortable,   but  an   un- 
healthy and  even  dangerous  drink  for  summer, 
for  the  more  you  drink  the  more  you  have  to 
drink,  until  a  brassy  taste  and  an  uncomfortable 
oppression   is  observed.     One  fifth  the  quantity, 
swallowed  in  the  shape  of  small  lumps  of  ice,  sat- 
isfies the  thirst. 

383.  The  mission  of  life   is   to  make  a  living 
here,  as  a  means  of  securing  a  living  in  the  great 
hereafter. 

384.  Man  was  made  to  work,  and  it  is  his  dig- 
nity, just  in  proportion  as  it  is  a  means  to  an  end 
of  a  useful,  honorable,  and  religious  life. 

385.  When  a  man  becomes  so  much  engrossed 
in  work  and  the  love  of  it,  that  he  has  neither 
time  nor  inclination  for   reading  and  study  and 
mental  improvement,  he  has  submitted  himself  to 
one  of  the  most  remorseless  and  degrading  slav- 
eries, and  will  never  be  above  a  clown  in  man- 
ners, feelings,  aspirations,  or  thoughts. 

386.  Very  few  men  reach  middle  life  without 
having   committed   some  folly,  improvidence,  or 
indiscretion  which  it  would  cause  a  pang  to  have 
proclaimed   to   the  public.     It  would  save  many 
an  hour  of  both  physical  and  mental  depression 
and    despondency,  if  it   could    be   indelibly  im- 
pressed upon  the  minds  of  children  at  an  early 
age,  that  it  would  be  a  noble  aim  and  an  honora- 
ble ambition,  never  to  allow  one's  self  to  do  any- 
thing which  would  give  rise  to  a  feeling  of  shame, 
if  it  should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  father  or 
mother. 


84  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

387.  The  sturdy  pauper  who  was  kept  picking 
oakum  all  day,  was  heard  to  soliloquize  near  din- 
ner-time, "  This  working  between  meals  is  killing 
me  .by  inches."    It  is  the  incessant  working  of  the 
stomach  between  meals  which  kills  it,  as  far  as 
all  efficient  labor  is  concerned ;  that  is,  persons 
who  eat  frequently  through  the  day  —  as  young 
girls  about  the  house  and  some  others  are  apt  to 
do,  —  wear  the  stomach  out,  lay  the  foundation  for 
life-long,    tormenting    dyspepsia,   by   eating    too 
often  ;  for  it  requires  about  five  hours  to  digest  a 
meal  and  pass  it  out  of  the  stomach,  and  it  can- 
not rest  until  the  work  is  done,  as  long  as  there 
is  any  undigested  food  in  it ;  and  as  no  muscle  in 
the  body  can  work  all  the  time,  so  there  should 
be  at  least  five  hours  between  the  three  meals  of 
the  day  ;  and   even  as  young  as  ten  years,  the 
habit  should   be  begun  of  eating   nothing  what- 
ever between  meals. 

388.  It  would  greatly  elevate  and   add   to  the 
efficiency  of  the  farmers  of  the  country,  who  are 
its  bone  and  sinew,  if  some  of  their  time  every 
day  was  given  to  brain  work ;  not  to  mere  read- 
ing, but  the  study  and  investigation  of  some  sub- 
ject to  the  extent  of  thoroughly  understanding  it ; 
and  nothing  would  be  more  appropriate  as  well 
as  largely  remunerative,  than  the  study  of  botany, 
which  would  show  them  the  needs,  the  capabili- 
ties, the  habits  and  uses  of  plants ;  or  chemistry, 
so  as  to  adapt  their  fertilizers   to  the  quality  of 
the  soil  and  the  requirements  of  the  crops  sown,  — 
then  they  would  be  men,  not  boors. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  85 

389.  Men  are  what   the  works  of  their  hands 
make   them :    if    they   do   nothing   but  eat   and 
drink  and  sleep  and  work,  as  many  farmers  and 
laborers  do,  like  the  horse  and  the  ox,  like  them, 
they  are   brutal  in  their  natures,  and  very  little 
above  them. 

390.  In   any  peck  of  eggs,  the   difference  in 
weight  between  the  largest  and  the  smallest  is 
about  one  third. 

391.  Boiled  rice,  pigs'  feet  or  tripe  .soused,  and 
roasted  sweet  apple,  are  more  easily  digested  than 
any  other  food,  requiring  only  an  hour.      Eggs 
(raw,  whipped,  boiled,  or  poached),  salmon,  trout, 
barley  soup,  cole  slaw,  and  venison  steak,  require 
an  hour  and  a  half  or  more  ;  roast-beef,  three  and 
a  half  hours  ;  pork  and  boiled  cabbage,  five  hours. 

392.  Bruises,  Burns,  and  Cuts.  —  The  one  great 
point  is  to  keep  out  the  air  with  flour  in  burns  ; 
a  bit  of  court-plaster  for  cuts,  to  bring  the  sides 
of  the  wound  together  and  keep  them  so.     For 
bruises,  wash  clean  and  keep  on  wet  cloths,  re- 
peated every  five  minutes  until  easy. 

393.  Nuts  after  a  meal  promote  digestion  ;  if 
too  many  have  been  eaten  take  salt  freely. 

394.  The   best   protection   of  the   old   against 
pneumonia  and  other  dangerous  maladies  of  win- 
ter is  found  in  warm  rooms  and  in  warm  clothing. 

395.  Mustard-plasters  are  best  made  by  simply 
mixing  the  white  of  eggs  with  the  mustard  so  as 
to  make  a  paste  ;  —  it  is  very  powerful,  but  does 
not  break  the  skin. 


86  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

396.  The  whole  solar  system  of  worlds  in  the 
wonders  of  its  construction  and  the  wisdom  of  its 
laws,  does  not  surpass  the  mechanism  of  the  hu- 
man frame  in  the  accuracy  of  its  operations,  and 
the  beautiful  adaptation  of  means  to  ends. 

397.  The  strength  necessary  to  lift  a  ton  of  two 
thousand  pounds,  one  foot  high,  is  called  a  foot- 
ton  ;  the  strength  which  the  heart  expends  every 
twenty-four  hours,  in  propelling  the  blood  to  the 
most  distant  parts  of  the  body,  is  computed   to 
amount  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand 
foot-tons  ;  and  yet  this  entire  mechanism,  whose 
average  weight  is  half  a  pound,  nine  and  one-third 
ounces,  does  one  quarter  more  work  in  a  given 
time  than  all  the  muscles  of  the  body  in  rowing  a 
boat.     The  most  active  climber  can  raise  himself 
a  thousand  feet  in  an  hour  ;  the  best  locomotive, 
three  thousand  feet ;  the  heart,  twenty  thousand, 
—  so  wonderful  is  the  workmanship  of  the  Divine 
Artificer. 

398.  That  young  person   is   a  hero,  and   will 
stand  distinguished  in  after-life,  who  has  the  cour- 
age never  to  purchase  a  meal  or  a  garment  until 
self-earned  money  is  in  the  hand  ready  to  be  paid 
for  them. 

399.  The  Milesian  was  not  wholly  wrong  who 
said,  "  If  a  Yankee  was  left  on  an  uninhabited  isl- 
and  to-night,  he  would   be  offering  newspapers 
next  morning  to  every  one  he  met."     It  is  Anglo- 
Saxon  energy  and  enterprise  which  have  accom- 
plished some  of  the  grandest  achievements. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  8/ 

400.  It  ought  to  have  a  constant  repetition,  that 
hard  study,  severe  mental  application,  and  accu- 
mulated   responsibilities,   do    not  wear  out    the 
brain,  do  not  impair  its  functions,  do  not  cause 
softening,  apoplexy,  and  nervous   exhaustion  ;  — 
the  great  one  cause  is  eating  too  much  and  exer- 
cising too  little. 

401.  Bad  boys  make  bad  men  when  left  alone 
to  develop  themselves  ;  but  many  of  them  can  be 
reclaimed  by  kind  words,  by  encouraging  words, 
by  appealing  to  their  better  nature,  their  manli- 
ness and  their  generosity  ;  then  show  them  how 
to  earn,  and  how  to  economize,  and  they  are  safe 
for  all  time. 

402.  The  excessive  pain  of  a  hollow  tooth  is 
sometimes  instantly  removed  by  reducing   to   a 
powder  equal  quantities  of  salt  and  alum,  dip  into 
the  mixture  a  moistened  bit  of  cotton  and  fill  up 
the  cavity  ;   or  by  entering  a  dentist's  office,  or 
by  a  good  dinner,  or  a  fire-alarm,  —  the  last  three 
cures  are  temporary  :  excitement  has  diminished 
the  volume  of  blood  in  the  tooth,  by  sending  it  in 
large  quantities  to  the   surface  and  extremities  ; 
this  is  on  the  principle  of  derivation  :   all  pain 
arises  from  an  undue  amount  of  blood  at  the  part ; 
attract  it  to  some  other  place  by  the  application  of 
a  mustard-plaster,  for  example,  and  relief  is  speedy. 

403.  We  owe  it  to  society  as  well  as  to  our  own 
respect,  to  be  increasingly  on  our  guard  on  the 
downhill  of  life,  to  sedulously  watch  against  un- 
tidiness in  person  or  dress. 


88  HO IV  TO  LIFE  LONG. 

404.  Unexpected   ludicrosities   are  as  efficient 
as  pills  sometimes  in  "  shaking  up  "  the  system  as 
a  step   toward   its   purification.     "How  did    you 
feel,  my  man,  when  the  cold  waves   broke   over 
you  ? "     "  Wet,  ma'am,  very  wet."     Said  an  angry 
captain  to  an  untidy  soldier,  "  How  long  do  you 
wear  your  shirt,  Patrick  ?  "    "  Twenty-eight  inches, 
your  honor." 

405.  To  have  the  "tantrums,"  is  to  be  acting 
in  a  passionate,  spiteful,  belittling,  and  unreason- 
ing  manner,   observable   in   domestic   life.    The 
humbling  remedy  is,  say  nothing,  and   take   no 
notice  of  manifestations  which  do  not  belong  to 
the  cultivated  and  refined. 

406.  At  three-score   the    "troops  of  friends" 
of  early  life  have  dwindled  to  "few  and  far  be- 
tween."    Most   have  died  ;   many  moved  away  ; 
some  have  risen  and  dropped  us  ;    others  have 
fallen  and  we  have  dropped  them  ;  estrangements 
from  a  great  variety  of  causes  have  come  in  be- 
tween us,  and  it  is  only  here  and  there  that  the 
loves  of  our  youth  remain  unimpaired.     Then  it 
is,  that  as  each  one  dies  we  feel  it  to  be  an  in- 
dividual, personal  loss,  and  in  our   sadness,  the 
thought  sweeps  across   us,  that  we  shall  follow 
soon.     They  are  wise  who  begin  in  adult  life  to 
brighten    the   friendships    of    youth,   and   never 
break  one  without  mature  deliberation. 

407.  Retiring  from  business.     Giving  up  !     A 
man  will  never  give  up  till  he  is  dead  and  the 
coffin  screwed  down. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  89 

408.  Of  two  men  in  the  same  community,  one 
depending  wholly  on  his  daily  labor  for  subsist- 
ence, the  other  worth  a  million,  of  the  same  age, 
in  good  health,  and  esteemed  for  their  integrity,  — 
the  poor  man  who  has  an  unquestioning  faith  in 
the  efficacy  of  prayer  is  infinitely  happier  than  his 
rich  neighbor,  who  holds  that  all  help  is  in  himself, 
and  has  no  faith  in  the  providence  of  God. 

409.  Men  may  be  physically  old  at  three-score, 
but  need  not  be  so  mentally  until  beyond  eighty 
or  ninety.      In   a   healthy  body  the   mind   gets 
steadily  stronger,  greater,  more  magnificent  in  its 
accomplishment,  for  a  score  or  two  of  years  after 
the   first  half    century.      After    he   was   eighty, 
Palmerston  showed  no  signs  of  mental  weakness, 
and  rode  twenty  miles  a  day  on  horseback  for  ex- 
ercise.    Disraeli  at  seventy  shows  not  the  slight- 
est  sign  of  "giving  up"  the  leadership  of  the 
greatest  nation  on  the  earth's  surface.   Longfellow, 
and  Whittier,  and  Holmes,  and  Draper,  and  Pro- 
fessor Henry,  all  nearing  three-score  and  ten,  are 
not  tired  of  life  yet,  nor  tired  of  work,  but  they 
feel  able  to  do  and  dare  greater  things  ;  and  Car- 
lisle, and  Thurlow  Weed,  and  Reverdy  Johnson, 
near  eighty,  are  still  great  captains  among  men 
of  mind. 

410.  The  pleasure  of  a  letter  is  diminished  in 
proportion  to  the  carelessness  of  the  hand  writ- 
ing.    Never  begin  a   letter  with  a  "sorry,"  "re- 
gret," or  "  pain,"  and  always  close  it  courteously 
or  kindly. 


QO  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

411.  There  should  be  a  fire  kindled  in  at  least 
one  room  in  every  house  at  sunrise  and  sunset 
from  the  first  of  October,  and  in  the  spring  up  to 
the  first  day  of  June  ;  for  every  chilly  sensation, 
even  if  it  be  but  for  a  second,  shows  that  a  cold 
has  been  taken  ;  a  fever  follows  every  cold,  and 
that  is  disease. 

412.  Whenever  a  lady  feels  that  a  shawl  is  com- 
fortable in  her  house,  then  she  may  be  sure  that 
there  should  be  a  good  fire  somewhere. 

413.  Too  early  and   too  late,   causes   many  a 
tedious  illness,  many  a  premature  death  :  putting 
out  house-fires  too  early  in  the  spring,  and  defer- 
ring  their  kindling  too   long  in   the   fall,  —  the 
former  gives  rise  to   spring   fevers,  the  latter  to 
colds  or  agues,  which  are  to  worry  and  annoy  all 
winter. 

414.  Fever  is  the  reaction  of  cold  or  a  chill, 
and  is  as  inevitable  as  the  swinging  of  a  pendu- 
lum to  the  other  side. 

415.  Some  men  are  wittiest,  or  most  eloquent, 
when  the  brain  is  under  the  excitement  caused 
by  liquor ;    some   spinal    and    nervous   diseases 
greatly  stimulate   the   brain.     The  extraordinary 
eloquence  of  Robert  Hall  was  partly  owing  to  a 
diseased  spine.     A  blister   plaster  enables   some 
men  to  reach  heights  of  thought,  not  otherwise 
possible  ;   but   it   is   always   dangerous  to  follow 
such. 

416.  It  is  what  a  man  is,  which  makes  him 
truly  great. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  91 

417.  John  Timbs  died  in  1875,  near  four-score, 
the  author  of  a  hundred  and  forty  volumes  in  the 
British  Museum  ;   some  of  them  works  of  great 
value,  and  to  write  which  required  untiring  indus- 
try,  varied    and    rare    attainments.     Few    men 
worked    harder    or    more    conscientiously.     But 
John  Timbs  died  so  poor  that  he  was  dependent 
.on  the  gratuitous  assistance  of  his  friends.     This 

shows  that  hard  and  honest  labor  is  not  always 
adequately  rewarded  in  this  world.  He  filled  a 
place  and  filled  it  well,  and  happy  are  they  who 
do  the  same  ;  for  they  will  not  lose  the  reward  of 
Him  who  has  a  work  for  each  to  perform,  and  al- 
ways bless_es  him  who  does  it  willingly  and  well. 

418.  The  way  to  greatness  is  through  difficulty. 

419.  Fresh  air  and  a  glass  of  spring  water  are 
thought  of  with  delight ;  and  yet  the  latter   has 
killed   in   an   hour,  and   the  former   has   caused 
weeks   and    months   of   sickness    and   suffering. 
They  are  only  good  in  their  place,  both  danger- 
ous to  one  who  is  in  a  profuse  perspiration. 

420.  The  fresh  air  of  a  summer's  sunrise,  and 
the  "  delightful "  breezes  of  an  autumn  sunset,  are 
always  loaded  with  poisons,  in  proportion  to  the 
flatness  of  the  land,  the  dampness  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  the  warmth  of  the  weather  ;  —  the  anti- 
dote, Do  not  be  exposed  to  either  on  an  empty 
stomach  or  when  tired. 

421.  The  longer  the  answer  to  a  letter  is  de- 
layed the  more   distasteful   and   difficult   does  it 
become  to  answer  it. 


92  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

422.  Never  mention   the  name  of  a  person  in 
a  letter,  against  whom  there  is  made  any  adverse 
statement,   for    you   can    never   tell   into   whose 
hands  that  letter  may  fall. 

423.  There  are  many  large  hearts  among  the 
rich  and  fashionable  of  New  York,  who  make  the 
rarest  flowers  at  parties  and  weddings  and  recep- 
tions do  double  duty,  by  having  them  promptly 
distributed   among    the  sick   and   poor   in   their 
neighborhood  or  in  public   institutions. 

424.  It  is  questionable  whether  an  apology  is 
ever  wholly  unconnected  with  a  falsehood. 

425.  I  know  a  business  man  of  fifty  who  walks 
a  mile   twice   every  day   of  his   life   to   see   his 
mother,  who  is  now  beyond  four-score.     How  her 
old  heart  must  be  cheered  and  warmed  at  every 
such   evidence   of  filial   love   and   remembrance. 
Who  does  not  hope  they  will  meet  in  heaven  at 
last  and  part  no  more. 

426.  When  a  man  asks  you  a  favor  and  you  are 
unable  or  unwilling  to  grant  it,  if  you  have  a  spark 
of  humanity  or  generosity  about  you,  say  "  No," 
as  an  act  of  justice  to  him.     If  you  give  him  an 
indefinite  answer,  or  hold  out  the  idea  that  you 
may  meet  his  views,  when  you  have  no  thought 
of  doing  so,  you  are  uttering  a  deliberate  false- 
hood :  you  are  holding  out  hopes  which  are  not 
to  be  realized,  and  are  preventing  him  from  using 
all   his   energies   in  another  direction  ;   for  if  he 
has  some  expectation  of  help  from   you,  he  will 
less  earnestly  solicit  aid  from  another. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  93 

427.  When  you  have  gone  out  into  the  great 
world  to  strike  for  your   own  fortune,  far   away 
from   the   old  folks   at   home,  write   to   them  at 
stated  periods,  and  never  let   anything   short  of 
serious  illness  prevent  it :  it  may  be  every  week, 
or  month,  or  more,  but  let  it  be  punctually  done. 
You  would  do  this  if  you  knew  the  happiness  it 
would  give  them  in  looking  forward  to  the  time 
of  getting  the  letter,  the  satisfaction  which  would 
fill  the  heart  while  preparing  to  open  it,  and  the 
interest  in  every  line,  in  every  word,  and  all  this 
to  be  repeated,  you  know  not  how  many  times, 
before  the  next  letter  comes. 

428.  The  best  and  easiest  time  for  answering 
an  ordinary  letter,  is  the  moment  after  you  have 
read  it,  when  the  impressions  it  has  made   are 
fresh. 

429.  Early,  rapid,  and  great  success  in  life,  is 
almost  always  temporary,  and  ends  in  disastrous,   - 
if  not  ignominious  failure ;  as  witness  Napoleon, 
and  Pitt,  and  Byron,  and  the  great  Marlborough. 

430.  Many   of  the  most   distinguished   names 
in  the  world's  history,  were  nearly  half  a  century 
in  attracting  the  admiring  notice  of  mankind  ;  as 
witness  Cromwell  and  Cavour,  and  Bismarck  and 
Palmerston,  and  the  elder  Beecher.    But  their  star 
will  never  die  ;  their  works,  their  influence  on  the 
age  in  which  they  lived,  will  be  perpetuated   to 
remote  generations.     This  should  be   encourage- 
ment  to   all   the    plodders,   for   their  time    may 
come. 


94  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

431.  Only  about  one  person  in  twenty  becomes 
hydrophobia  after   being   bitten  by  a  mad  dog  ; 
showing  that  in  order  to  make  the  bite  "take," 
there  must.be  some  peculiarity  in  the  system  at 
the  time  which  responds  to  the  biting. 

432.  As  the  traveller  is  often  placed  in  positions 
requiring  assistance,  and  is  thrown  on  his  own  re- 
sources, the  following  items  may  be  impressed  on 
the  memory  to  advantage  :    I.  If  scalded,  plunge 
the  part  in  water  ;  this  relieves  pain  instantly  and 
gives  time  and  composure.     2.  If  anything  gets 
into  the  eye,  never  rub  it,  because  that  imbeds  it 
more  immovably  in  the  soft  substance ;  take  the 
handle  of  a  pencil,  put  it  on  a  line  with  the  edge 
of  the  eyelash,  which  draw  over  the  pencil ;  the 
offending  particle  is  readily  seen,  to  be  removed 
with   the   corner   of   a   handkerchief.     3.  If   the 
blood  comes  out  in  a  steady  stream  from  a  wound, 
tie  a  handkerchief  below  the  wound  ;  if  it  comes 
out  by  jerks,  tie  it  above  ;  tie  a  double  knot  loose 
around,  then  another  double  knot  near  the  former, 
insert  a  stick  and  turn  it  round  until  the  blood 
ceases  and  hold  it  thus.     4.  An  insect  in  the  ear 
may  be  drowned  out  with  tepid  water  or  smothered 
with  sweet  oil ;  if  a  hard  thing,  double  a  horse- 
hair, lay  the  head  on  one  side,  drop  in  the  loop, 
until  it  catches,  and  draw  it  out.     5.  If  clothing  is 
on  fire,  lie  down  flat,  instantly,  to  save  the  face, 
and  then  envelop  with  woolen  carpet,  or  blanket, 
or  overcoat.   6.  Smother  burning  oil  with  woolen  ; 
water  only  spreads  it.     7.  If  the  room  is  on  fire, 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  95 

wrap  a  woolen  blanket  around  you  and  over  your 
head.  8.  If  smoke  is  suffocating  you,  fall  on  the 
floor  and  crawl  out  on  your  hands  and  knees. 
9.  Suck  a  wound  instantly,  if  your  lip  is  not 
sore,  and  you  suspect  a  poisonous  bite.  10.  If 
the  throat  burns  after  swallowing  a  poison,  drink 
sweet  oil.  n.  If  you  are  falling  asleep  from 
a  poison,  drink  half  a  glass  of  water,  into  which 
has  been  stirred  a  full  teaspoon  each  of  salt  and 
mustard,  and  after  vomiting  drink  the  strongest 
coffee  and  keep  in  motion  until  perfectly  awake  ; 
after  any  poison  swallow  one  or  two  raw  eggs. 
12.  If  taken  senseless  and  there  is  loud  snoring, 
and  red  face,  it  is  apoplexy,  —  raise  the  head  ;  if 
the  face  is  pale  as  a  sheet  and  no  breath,  it  is 
fainting ;  place  the  body  perfectly  flat  and  it  will 
come  to,  — -  nothing  else  is  ever  necessary. 

433.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  rich  to  give  liberally  ; 
it  would  be  inconsistency  in  them  to  worship  their 
Maker  in    a   meaner    mansion   than   their  own. 
Their    homes,   their    churches,   their    places    of 
amusement,  and  their  hotels,  should  be  all  of  a 
piece ;   their  surroundings   should   be   uniformly 
elegant ;  it  is  a  charity  and  a   patriotism,  for  it 
promotes  trade  and  encourages  enterprise. 

434.  It  is  an  incalculable  solace  in  old  age  and 
in  the  last  sickness,  to  be  able  to  think  of  kind 
things  said  and  done  to  others  ;  and  the  earlier  we 
begin  to  practice  these  things  the  happier  will  we 
be  in  life. 

435.  Never  write  a  letter  in  a  passion. 


96  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

436.  We  carefully  lay  aside  our  newspapers  and 
magazines  and  pictorials,  for  -future  reference  or 
binding  ;  but  how  useless  the  care  and  the  expense 
uniform  experience  will  testify,  for  seldom,  indeed, 
are  the  leaves  ever  turned  over  again  ;  yet  all  the 
information  and  gratification  and  amusement  they 
afforded   you  would   have   been  repeated   to  the 
poor  and  the  prisoner,  to  whom  you  might  have 
sent  them  ;  and  notably  to  the  sick  and  the  unfor- 
tunate insane,  to  while  away  many  a  sad  and  weary 
and  hopeless  hour,  or  to  be  a  feast  to  a  starving 
mind,  besides  compelling  it  away  from  the  con- 
templation of  its  own  wretchedness. 

437.  The  railings  against  the  rich,  spring  from 
a  low,  ungenerous  envy.   We  look  at  their  princely 
dwellings,  their  splendid  equipages,  their  magnifi- 
cent dress,  and  their  costly  adornments,  and  feel 
assured  that  if  we  were  in  their  place  we  would 
live  at  less  cost  and  give  more  to  the  poor,  forget- 
ting that  they  give  the  whole  cost  of  these  to  the 
poor,  with  this  difference :  they  give  their  money 
to  the  poor  whose  work  made  all  these  things  and 
thus  encourage  industry,  while  we,  if  we  gave  any- 
thing at  all,  would  give  as  a  gratuity,  and  thus  en- 
courage idleness,  unthrift,  and  beggary. 

438.  In  your  intercourse  with  men,  if  you  mean 
a  "  No,"  be  manly  enough  to  speak  it,  yet  gener- 
ous enough  to  refuse  with  a  kindly  courtesy. 

439.  The  greatest  intellects  are   among  those 
who  added  most  to  their  greatness  and  "  fixed  " 
it,  late  in  life. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  97 

440.  There  are  two  churches  on  Fifth  Avenue 
which  have  cost  a  million  dollars  each,  and  a  ca- 
thedral to  be  finished  soon,  at  double  the  expense. 
Many,  even  good  persons,  have  exclaimed,  "To 
what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?  "     They  were  built  at 
a  time  when  thousands  willing  to  work  were  al- 
most starving  ;  and  thus  kept  a  multitude  of  fam- 
ilies from  beggary,  while  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  were  expended  at  that  very  time  in  feed- 
ing those  who  could  get  no  work  to  do.     Besides, 
suppose  it  does  cost  a  million  of  dollars  to  build  a 
splendid  church,  accommodating  over  two  thou- 
sand hearers,  it  will  serve  as  a  church  a  hundred 
years   hence.     Many  a  private   mansion    costs  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  only  ten  of  these 
would  build  a  church.     David  left  five  thousand 
million  of  dollars  to  build  the  Temple. 

441.  The  best  poultices  are  those  which  keep 
moist  longest.     Irish  moss  is  inodorous,  does  not 
slip,  nor  sour,  nor  grease,  nor  stain,  and  need  not 
be  renewed  for  eighteen  hours. 

442.  Few  men  have  the   courage   adequate  to 
two   things,  —  to   say   "  I    don't   know,"   and    to 
frankly  and   promptly  accept  whole  facts,  which 
sweep  away  a  favorite  theory. 

443.  From   forty   years    and    onwards,   with   a 
good  physical  constitution,  a  mind   for  research 
can  grow  steadily,  in  acumen  and  vigor,  until  be- 
yond four-score. 

444.  He  is  the  greatest  who  has  done  the  most 
good  to  humanity. 

7 


98  BOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

445.  The  real  food  of  plants  seems  to  be  pre- 
cipitated from  the  humus  of  the  soil,  when  harts- 
horn water  is  added  to  it,  and  is  seen  as  a  fine 
black  matter  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.     Hence 
rain  and  snow  (which  is  frozen  rain),   which  con- 
tain  hartshorn,  are   the   great   enrichers   of  the 
soil.     All  farmers  understand  that  the  deeper  the 
snows,  the  more  fruitful  will   be  their  crops  the 
following   summer ;  but  while   hartshorn   is  food 
for  plants,  phosphorus  is  the   food  on  which  the 
brain  of  man  feeds  and  grows  strong  and  active  — 
fish   and  eggs  abound  largely  in   this   important 
ingredient. 

446.  It  is  a  grievous  error,  on  the  part  of  many 
in  this  country,  to  act  on  the  supposition  that  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  begins  to  be  incapacitated 
for  the  duties  of  his  office  earlier  than  the  lawyer, 
the  physician,  or  the  financier.   The  most  eminent 
physicians  of  the  century  had  quite  as  much  the 
confidence  of  their  patients   at   four-score  as  at 
any  previous  time.     Carlisle  in  history,  Lyell  in 
geology,  Marshall  on  the  bench,  and  Astor  and 
Stewart  and  Vanderbilt  in  finance,  are  still  pre- 
eminent about  four-score ;  and  there  is  no  neces- 
sary reason  why  clergymen  should  not  fill  their 
position  ably,  if  kept  pecuniarily  easy  from   the 
age  of  fifty. 

447.  It  is  the  brooding  over  one  disagreeable 
thing  which   fills  our   mad-houses,   it   being   the 
result  of  want  of  force  of  character  sufficient  to* 
tear  the  mind  away  from  the  all-absorbing  idea. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  99 

448.  Unfermented  wine,  properly  prepared,  con- 
sists of  three  quarters  water  and   one  of  sugar, 
but  no  alcohol  ;  but  it  should  be  kept  in  a  cool 
place  in   glass  bottles,  well   stopped   and  placed 
upside  down. 

449.  If  a  person  falls  down,  snores,  and  is  in- 
sensible, it  is    apoplexy ;   place  him  in  a   sitting 
position,  for   this   favors   the   flow   of  excess    of 
blood  from   the  head  by  gravity  ;   if  the  face  is 
pale,  body  motionless,  and  breathing   not  appre- 
ciable, it  is  a  faint,  because  the  blood  from  some 
reason  'does  not  reach  the  brain  from  the  lungs ; 
this  is  favored  by  placing  the  patient  flat  on  his 
back,  then  let  him  alone  ;  this  position  enables  the 
heart   to   send  the  blood   to  the  head  with  less 
effort,  being  on  a  horizontal  line,  than  if  at  right 
angles  as  in  a  sitting  position.     If  a  person  falls 
into  convulsions,  seemingly  senseless,  with  violent 
contortions,  it  is  epilepsy,  that  is,  St.  Vitus'  dance  ; 
do  nothing  except  to  prevent  him  injuring  him- 
self   and   he   will  soon    come    to.     If    one   falls 
senseless    from   excessive  heat,   skin   warm   and 
dry,  it  is  sun-stroke ;  set  him  up  in  the  shade,  and 
pour  streams  of  cold  water  on  the  head,  not  con- 
tinuously on  one  spot,  until  relieved.     Egyptians 
pour  cold  salt-water  over  the  head  and  ears. 

450.  Work   is   a   discipline,  yet   like  all  other 
disciplines,  elevates,  ennobles,  and   gives   power 
for  high  achievements  ;  and  happy  is  he  who  en- 
gages in  it  as  a  means  of  attaining  greater  things, 
here  and  beyond  Time's  boundary. 


100  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

451.  Not  one  article  of  the  winter  clothing  of 
the  old,   the  frail,    or  the  feeble,  should   be  laid 
aside,   until   fires   have   been    unnecessary  for  a 
week  ;  for  north  of  thirty-eight  degrees,  the  even- 
ings and  mornings  are  often  uncomfortably  cool, 
until  near  the  first  of  June. 

452.  It  is  estimated  that  the  "  soothing  syrup," 
sold  annually  in  the  United  States,  contains  fif- 
teen million  grains  of  morphine,  all  of  which  is 
given  to  infants  without   the   advice  of  a  physi- 
cian.    Less  than  ten  grains  at  a  dose  will  kill  a 
man  ;  and  yet  because  it  "  quiets  "  crying  or  fret- 
ful  infants,    it   is   freely  given   by   inconsiderate 
parents  and  reckless  nurses,  destroying  infantile 
life  in  very  many  unsuspected  cases  ;   in    others 
causing  convulsions,  water  on   the   brain,  and  a 
great  variety  of  hidden  and  fatal  diseases. 

453.  Such  is  Almighty  beneficence,  that  bless- 
ing was  mingled  with  the  original  curse,  "  In  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,"  for  work 
is   made  an  interest  and  a   pleasure  for  what  it 
brings,   and    they   are    glorious    things :    health, 
strength,    sleep,   the    enjoyment    of    eating   and 
drinking,  the  comforts  of  a  happy  home,  and  lei- 
sure to  prepare  for  worlds  beyond. 

454.  Those  who  begin  life  rich,  often  die  poor. 
It   is   a   rare  thing   for    the   grandchildren    of  a 
wealthy  man  to  enjoy  his  fortune  ;  it  is  the  boy 
who   begins   life   without   a   dollar,  who  oftenest 
rises  to  become  an  associate  with  the  magnates 
in  finance,  politics,  and  the  professions. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  IOI 

455.  Although  perfect  happiness  is  not  of  this 
world,  yet  there  are  those  who  live  from  year  to 
year   under   circumstances   of  very  great   enjoy- 
ment, even  although  every  day  may  have  its  tran- 
sitory cloud.     "  Since  I  have  known  the  Gospel, 
I  have  been  as  happy  as  an  angel,"   said   Lady 
Hastings  to  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon.     This 
was  not  a  happiness*  of  continuous  ecstasy,  but 
of  that  quiet,  abiding  kind,  which  so  materially 
adds  to  the  length  of  human  life.     It  is  fret,  and 
worry,  and  impatience,  and  spasmodic  fits  of  pas- 
sion and  anger,  which  curtail  human  life. 

456.  Slang  phrases  are  often  very  suggestive, 
and   tell  more  under  the  circumstances   than   a 
much  larger  number  of  the  most  expressive  words 
in   the    language  ;    and    they   many   times    add 
piquancy  and  mirthfulness  to  conversation  ;  at  the 
same  time  no  cultivated  person  can  possibly  use 
them  without  lowering  his  self-respect  and  losing 
somewhat  of  the  respect  which  those  of  his  class 
have  had  toward  him. 

457.  In  building  a  new  house,  or  changing  a 
residence  where  the  water  supply  is  not  from  res- 
ervoirs or  cisterns,  it  should  be  ascertained  with 
the  utmost  certainty  that  the  bottom  of  the  spring 
or  well  is  higher  than  the  privies  and  stables  and 
barn-yards  of  the  neighbors,  for   as  the  country 
becomes  more  thickly  settled,  insidious  and  fatal 
forms  of  decline  and  typhoid  fevers  are  more  and 
more  common,  and  are  traceable  directly  to  using 
water  drained  from  such  localities. 


IO2  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

458.  Up   to    forty  the   system    bears    sudden 
changes  of  temperature   better   than   at   a   later 
period ;    for   close   observation    has   shown   that 
while  two  persons  die  from  that  cause  at  thirty- 
nine,  four  die  at  forty-eight  out  of  the  same  num- 
ber of  individuals  ;  eight  at  fifty-seven,  sixteen  at 
sixty-six,  thirty-two  at  seventy-five,  sixty-four  at 
eight-four,  thus  doubling  every  nine  years  ;  hence 
the  older  we  get,  the  more  imperative  is  the  ne- 
cessity for  guarding  against  sudden  changes  of 
temperature,  by  arranging   to   keep  comfortably 
warm  all  the  time,  without  a  moment's  intermis- 
sion, and  especially  avoid  exposure  to  cold  damp 
winds. 

459.  Whenever  the  mind  is  noticed  to  be  ab- 
sorbed on  any  subject  day  and  night,  manifested 
by  talking  about  it  and  nothing  else,  immediate 
measures  should  be  taken  to  divert  the  attention 
to  other  things,  by  travel  or  otherwise. 

460.  Insanity  is  literally  "  without  health,"  but 
it  is  always  applied  to  the  mind,  and  means  look- 
ing at  things  in  undue  proportions,   caused   by 
some  department  of  the  brain  being  too  active  in 
consequence  of  too  much  blood  being  there,  at- 
tracted  or  drawn  thereto  by  thinking  too  much 
and  too  intensely  on  one  subject,  as  in  devising 
perpetual   motion,  squaring   the  circle,  or  other 
intricate  undecided  questions  or  problems  ;  or  the 
too    steady    contemplation    of   ruined    fortunes, 
blasted   reputation,  family  disgrace,  disappointed 
love,  or  personal  bereavement. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  1 03 

461.  To   be   content   to   live   on  a  salary  and 
thus   be  dependent  for  a  living  on  the  whim  or 
caprice   of  another,  is   the  mark   of  an   ignoble 
mind,  for  it  implies  a  want  of  proper  self  respect, 
and  of  an  independent  spirit,  and  its  tendency  is 
to  induce   a  fawning,  cringing,  and  subservient 
disposition. 

462.  Burning  charcoal  absorbs  twenty-five  times 
its  bulk  of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  twenty-four  hours  ; 
hence  may  be  used  advantageously  in  wells   or 
pits,  where  this  deadly  gas  abounds. 

463.  It  is  said  that  if  a  man  blows  his  breath 
into  the  nose  of  a  colt  or  calf,  the  animal  will  fol- 
low him  for  miles. 

464.  Moses  enjoined,  thirty-three  centuries  ago, 
that  the  beard  should  not  be  "  marred  ; "  a  flowing 
beard  protects  the  throat  from  being  chilled  by 
cold,  raw  winds,  keeps  it  warm  in  winter,  cools  it 
in  summer,  and  acts  as  a  strainer  to  the  air,  detain- 
ing in  its  meshes  much  of  the  dust  and  poisonous 
germs  which   impregnate   the   atmosphere  at  all 
seasons,  especially  in  warm  weather. 

465.  In  moving  into  a  house  supplied  with  water 
by  newly  laid  lead  pipes,  none  should  be  used  for 
cooking  or  drinking  purposes  for   at   least   one 
month,  so  as  to  allow  a  protecting  surface  to  be 
formed  on  the  inside  of  the  pipes  from  chemical 
changes  which  the  passing  water  soon  effects. 

466.  Putting  the  finger  on  or  inside  the  nose  of 
a  horse  soothes  the  animal,  as  stroking  does  the 
head  of  a  child. 


104  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

467.  Some  persons  fall  to  sleep  more  readily  if 
they  eat  a  little  just  before  retiring,  because  the 
digestion   of   the  food  attracts  the  blood  to    the 
stomach  from  the  head,  thus  relieving  the  brain  of 
that  extra  amount  of  blood  which  was  the  cause  of 
the  sleeplessness.    In  these  and  similar  cases,  rest- 
ing the  head  on  two  or  three  pillows  answers  a 
good  purpose,  as  gravity  promotes  the  descent  of 
the  blood. 

468.  Steel  grinders,  workers  in  metals,  stone- 
cutters, steam  engineers,  glass-blowers,  and  fire- 
men should  wear  full  beards,  because  they  filter 
the  air  and  detain  particles,  which  entering  the 
lungs    would    destroy    life,    besides    moderating 
the  heat  and  tempering  the  cold  air  before  it  is 
breathed. 

469.  If  a  splinter  or  anything  else  is  run  into 
hand,  or  foot,  or  body,  remove  it,  then  take  a  stick 
or  handle  of  a  knife  or  tool  and  tap  gently  on  the 
wound,  in  spite  of  the  hurting,  and  continue  it  un- 
til the  part  becomes  numb  and  bleeds  freely,  then 
cover  with  any  cerate  and  spread  on  a  bit  of  linen 
rag  ;  the  bleeding  keeps  down  the  inflammation 
and  the  healing  is  certain  and  rapid. 

470.  The  largest  number  of  suicides  among  men 
occur  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five  and  fifty- 
five  ;  among  women,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  ; 
decreasing  toward  eighty,  with  a  slight  increase 
after  that  ;   there  is  a  proportion  of   one  during 
growth,  twelve  during  maturity,  and  four  at  the 
time  of  mental  and  bodily  decline. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  IO5 

471.  There  is  a  bliss  in  the  act  of  going  to  sleep, 
of  which  we  are  conscious  only  when  we  happen 
to  be  waked  up  just  before  we  become  oblivious 
of  all  that  is  around  us  ;  and  there  are  the  very 
strongest  physiological  reasons  for  believing  that 
this  is  the  identical  act  of  dying  ;  the  only  differ- 
ence being  that  in  the  latter,  we  wake  no  more  in 
life.     So  that  it  is  not  all  a  myth,  the  "  bliss  of  dy- 
ing." 

472.  A   man    of    great    distinction   was    once 
brought  back  from  the  utmost  verge  of  life.     His 
representations  were   that   the   last   remembered 
sensations  of  which  he  was  conscious  were,  that 
he  was  listening  to  the  most  ravishing  strains  of 
music.     Let  us  all  cherish  the  thought  that  this 
will  be  our  ending  in  mode  and  manner. 

473.  Coffee   has   a  volatile  aroma,  which   the 
Americans  boil  away,  and  a  fixed  principle  which 
the  French  throw  away.     Both  may  be  preserved 
thus  :  pour  boiling  water  on  ground  coffee  in  a 
strainer  and  drink  it  for  to-day  ;  but  immediately 
put  the  grounds  in  warm  water  to  soak  until  next 
day,  then  pour  boiling  water  on  it  and  strain  it ;  to 
this  add  the  coffee  made  as  at  first,  from  the  fresh 
material,  and  so  on. 

474.  The  first  step  towards  curing  human  mala- 
dies, is  to  find  the  cause  and  remove  it.     A  close 
observation   and  good  judgment  are  essential  in 
this  direction. 

475.  The  ultimate  object  of  life  below  should 
be  to  secure  a  life  above. 


IO6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

476.  Our  children  owe  us  much,  but  we  derive 
much  from  them  in  return,  for  the  happiness  we 
have  in  them  antagonizes  half  the  sorrows  of  life. 

477.  The  outwardly  prosperous  are  not  always 
the  inwardly  serene  ;  while  the  unfortunate  may 
have  abidingly,  that  "  peace  which  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding," only  if  there  be  trust  in  God. 

478.  That  is  the  happiest  home  where  loving 
courtesies  are  habitual  with  every  member  of  the 
family. 

479.  A  little  child  said  one  day,  "  Mother,  you 
say  prayer  is  talking  to  God  ;  then  I  won't  talk 
with  Him,  because  if  He  gets  acquainted  with  me, 
He  might  like  me  so  much  as  to  want  me  to  live 
with  Him  ;  then  I  would  have  to  leave  you."     It 
would  be  happy  for  us  all  to  make  that  acquaint- 
ance early  and  close. 

480.  Natural  death  is  the  gradual  wearing  out 
of  the  machine  of  life  ;  that  which  is  the  result  of 
sickness,  violence,  or  accident  is  unnatural. 

481.  Girls  !  do  the  first  thing  that  offers,  do  it 
well,  and  you  will  inevitably  rise.    A  famous  act- 
ress began  by  being  a  nurse  ;  and  a  noted  artist 
found  out  that  she  could  paint,  by  working  at  em- 
broidery for  a  living. 

482.  "  How  human  greatness  pales  away  before 
a  sick  bed  ; "  said  Jules  Janin,  the  last  week  of 
his  life.     "  I  suppose  I  am  celebrated  as  a  great 
writer  and  a  member  of  the  Academy,  but  I  would 
renounce  all  that  glory  to  be  able  to  walk  around 
this  room  without  assistance." 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  1 07 

483.  Lean  people  live  longest ;  fat  people  are 
never  healthy  long,  for  fat  is  a  disease  ;   it  is  a 
dropsy  of  oil  instead  of  water.    The  English  fatten 
over  the  stomach  ;  the  bushwomen  of  Southern 
Africa  about  the  thighs  ;   the  Germans  all  over  ; 
a  genuine  Yankee,  nowhere. 

484.  Presence  of  mind  is  often  the  best  life  pre- 
server. 

485.  A  great  painter  was  once  asked  by  a  pupil 
how  to  mix  his  colors  ?     "  With  brains,"  was  the 
answer.     We  may  know  the  rules  for  doing  many 
things,  but  besides  these,  there  is  always  needed 
judgment,  skill,  and  tact ;  hence,  the  first  trial  for 
doing  anything  is  scarcely  ever  a  perfect  success, 
but  practice  accomplishes  the  object  in  the  end. 

486.  It  is  reported  by  Professor  Chevalier  that 
he  was  called  to  see  a  young  man  who  had  made 
a  wager  that  he  could  smoke  twelve  cigars  with- 
out stopping  ;  after  the  ninth,  he  felt  giddy  and 
began  to  shiver  ;  but  insisted  on  finishing,  which 
he  did,  and  died  that  night.    This  is  on  a  par  with 
the  little  girl  in  Pennsylvania,  who  undertook  to 
eat  twelve  saucerfulls  of  ice-cream,  which  she  did, 
and  died.     These  facts  do  not  prove  that  smoking 
cigars  or  eating  ice-cream  in  moderation,  are  in- 
jurious. 

487.  A  natural  appetite  is  satisfied  with  about 
the  same  amount  for  a  lifetime  ;  an  acquired  taste 
demands  a  constant  increase  in  quantity,  quality, 
or  frequency.     The  taste  for  liquor  or  tobacco  is 
always  acquired,  and  is  always  dangerous. 


IO8  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

488.  There  are  two  hundred  and  eight  bones  in 
the  human  body,  more  than  one  half  of  which  are 
in  the  arms  and  legs. 

489.  The  English  House  of  Parliament  is  sup- 
plied with  air  which  has  to  pass  through  a  layer 
of  common  raw  cotton,  which  soon  becomes  of  a 
murky  brown  color,  heavy  and  thick  with  dust  and 
organic  impurities,  of  which  country  air  has  less 
than  half  the  quantity. 

490.  It  is  not  wise  to  pride  ourselves  upon  our 
greater  knowledge  over  those  who  lived  a  hundred 
or  a  thousand  years  ago.   A  tanner's  shop  at  Pom- 
peii has  recently  been  found  to  contain  tools  of 
the  art  very  closely  resembling  those  of  the  pres- 
ent day. 

491.  A  bunch  of   flowers,    a  snow-white  table 
spread  at  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper,  with  genial 
courtesies,  —  how  they  gladden,  elevate,  purify, 
and  refine. 

492.  To  listen  at  a  crack,  to  peep  through  a 
keyhole,  or  to  read  a  letter  to  another  unauthor- 
ized ;  —  these  three  are  among  the  greatest  of 
meannesses. 

493.  It  would  revolutionize  society  if  each  one 
were  to  consider  sacred  to  secrecy  the  ill  remarks 
heard  of  another,  and  make  it  a  point  to  repeat 
only  the  pleasant  things  said  of  others. 

494.  Women  require  more  sleep  than  men,  and 
fat  people  more  than  thin. 

495.  Eat  thrice  a  day  only  and  not  an  atom  be- 
tween meals,  and  thus  avoid  dyspepsia. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  IOQ 

496.  The  young  commit  suicide  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment,  the  adult  only  after  mature  delibera- 
tion, as  a  general  rule. 

497.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  the  cure  of  any 
malady  without  first  ascertaining  and  removing 
the  cause. 

498.  Bacteria  and   other  germs  which   fill  the 
air  in  warm  weather,  are  very  poisonous  to  all  ex- 
posed sores,  but   if   the  surface  is    washed  with 
camphorated  spirits  they  are   utterly  destroyed ; 
hence  the  first  effort  in  the  cure  of  any  wound  is 
to  keep  it  perfectly  clean  by  frequent  washings. 

499.  The   best   time   for   bathing  is  about   an 
hour  before  breakfast  or  supper,  never  within  two 
hours  after  a  regular  meal.     Exercise  very  moder- 
ately in  the  water ;  do  not  remain  until  chilly  or 
tired  ;  come  out  while  still  fresh  and  vigorous,  wipe 
dry,  and  dress  quickly.     Bathing  under  a  hot  sun 
is  always  dangerous,  and  so  is    going   into   the 
water  while  feeling  very  warm  or  in  a  profuse  per- 
spiration ;  always  cool  off,  before  a  bath,  whether 
in-doors  or  out.     After  all,  the  best  remedy  for 
sea-sickness  is  a  resolute  determination  to  remain 
on  deck,  if  the  weather  admits  ;  if  not,  remain  in 
your  berth  until  it  does  ;  the  vomiting  induced  is 
at  the  very  foundation  of  a  beneficial  sea  voyage. 

500.  Relative  knowledge  is  sometimes  very  sat-   . 
isfactory.     You  look  over  your  church,  and,  com- 
pared to  your   own  family  apartment,    it    seems 
large,  holding  perhaps  a  thousand  persons,  —  most 
country   churches   half    that   number,  —  but    St. 
Peter's  in  Rome  holds  54,000. 


1 10  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

501.  Live  behind  your  income  and  not  ahead 
of  it ;  that  is,  arrange  that  your  money  shall  be 
expended  for  present,  instead  of  past  purchases  ; 
the  advantages  are,  you  can  get  what  you  want  on 
better  terms  ;  dealers  will  be  always  glad  to  see 
you  ;  you  will  never  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  see 
them,  and  you  will  enjoy  the  ineffable  felicity  of 
being  out  of  debt. 

502.  Keep  ahead  of  your  work  instead  of  allow- 
ing your  work  to  keep  ahead  of  you. 

503.  Each  one  would  do  well  to  remember  the 
size  of  his  native  State  in  square  miles,  and  then 
he  can  compare  it  with  any  country  in  which  he 
may  happen  to  be.    New  York  State,  for  example, 
covers  44,000   square  miles  ;    and  doubtless  the 
reader  will  feel  a  surprise  in  learning  that  it  is 
four  times  as  large  as  the  whole  land  of  Palestine. 
England  contains  51,000  square  miles,  the  whole 
Island  90,000.    Great  Britain  and  Ireland  together 
are  not  as  large  as  the  State  of  Iowa. 

504.  To  have  an  abiding  faith  in  an  overruling 
Providence  in  sickness,  is  worth  all  medicine  ;  it 
is  a  mine  of  happiness,  exhaustless  and  pure  ;  a 
"  balm  in  Gilead,"  a  physical  anodyne,  and  of  the 
sorrows  of  the  mind  as  well. 

505.  Nature   has   given   to   every  one   capital 
enough  to  make  a  success  in  life,  the  capital  of 
health  and  strength ;  and  a  rational  care  for  the 
preservation  of  the  former,  with  a  judicious  ex- 
penditure of  the  latter,  would  insure  every  man 
a  comfortable  competency  to  a  green  old  age. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  Ill 

506.  The  causes  of  a  very  large  number  of  dis- 
eases are  not  inherent,  but  are  the  result  of  ig- 
norance or  inattention  to  our  modes  of  living. 

507.  The  study  of  the  physiology  of  the   hu- 
man body,  should  be  an  essential  part  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young,  especially  girls. 

508.  The  best  time  to  eat  fruits  is  half  an  hour 
before  a  regular  meal,  for  then,  the  healthful  acid 
is  absorbed  and  carried  direct  into  the  circulation  ; 
but  if  eaten  after  a  meal,  it  is  so  diluted  as  to  be 
of  comparatively  small  benefit. 

509.  Never  take  a  cold   bath  while  tired,  nor 
less  than  two  hours  after  a  regular  meal. 

510.  It  is  suicidal  to  sleep   or  remain  a  great 
part   of  one's  time  in   a   room,  however  tidy   or 
elegant,  into  which  the  sun  cannot  shine  for  sev- 
eral hours  every  day. 

511.  The  teeth  should  be  well  brushed  on  ris- 
ing in  the  morning,  and  rinsed  well  with  lime-water 
or  soap-suds,  to  antagonize  any  acids  which  may 
have  been  formed  during  the  night ;  brush  them 
well  again  soon  after  the  last  meal  of  the  day  ; 
for  if  it  is  delayed  until  bed-time,  the  mouth  has 
been   kept   unclean  for  four  or   five  hours   use- 
lessly ;  this,  with  simply  rinsing  the  mouth  well 
after  each  meal,  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  teeth  in 
good  condition. 

512.  The  young  man  who  is  very  fastidious  in 
the  choice  of  the  girl  he  would  wish  to  marry,  is 
generally  so  far  from  perfection  himself,  that  his 
ambition  amounts  to  an  impudence. 


112  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

513.  If  chilly  before   bed-time,  it  is  far  better 
to   be  warmed  by  exercise  than  over  a  roasting 
fire. 

514.  The   grand   scale   of  European  churches 
may  be  better  comprehended  by  considering  that 
very  few  churches  in   New  York,  or  other  large 
cities,  hold  more  than  1,500  persons.     The  follow- 
ing table  will  interest  many  ;  beginning  with  St. 
Peter's  Church  at  Rome,  which  holds  54,000  per- 
sons, while  in   the  "  piazzas,"  half  a  million  hu- 
man beings  can  gather. 

Persons.  Square  yards. 

St.  Peter's 54,ooo  13,500 

Milan  Cathedral 37,ooo  9.250 

St.  Paul's,  at  Rome 32,000  8,coo 

St.  Paul's,  at  London 35>6oo  6,400 

St.  Petronio,  at  Bologna 24,400  6,100 

Florence  Cathedral 24,300  6,075 

Antwerp  Cathedral 24,000  6,000 

St.  Sophia's,  Constantinople    ....  23,000  5>75O 

St.  John  Lateran 22,900  5,725 

Notre  Dame,  at  Paris 21,000  5>25° 

Pisa  Cathedral 13,000  3>25O 

St.  Stephen's,  at  Vienna 12,400  3,100 

St.  Dominic's,  at  Bologna 12,000  3,000 

St.  Peter's,  at  Bologna 11,400  2,850 

Cathedral  of  Vienna 11,000  2,750 

St.  Mark's,  Venice 7,000  i>75O 

Spurgeon's  Tabernacle 7,000 

Dr.  Hall's  Church,  Fifth  Avenue,  seats  2,000 

515.  If  you  want  to  make  yourself  particularly 
disagreeable,  attempt  to  say  smart  things,  sharp 
things,  and  you  will  very  soon  accomplish  your 
object,  and  find  yourself  generally  avoided. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 1 3 

516.  Mere  beauty  loses  on  a  close  view,  while 
very  plain  people  often  grow  upon  us  by  daily  and 
intimate  association. 

517.  It  would  add  largely  to  individual  happi- 
ness and  the  well-being  of  the  family,  if  each  one 
were  to  begin  the  day  with  a  fixed  resolution  not 
to  say  a  single  hasty  or  sharp  or  unkind  word. 

518.  "  Of  course,"  is  the  expression  of  a  clown- 
ish nature ;  in  whatever  way  it  may  be  brought 
into  conversation  it  is  as  much  as  to  say,  "  are 
you  so  dull  as  not  to  see  that  ? " 

519.  The  Rhizopod,  "root-footed,"  is  the  sim- 
plest and  perhaps  the  oldest  form  of  animal  life  ; 
it  is  found  in  deep  sea-soundings,  in  the  form  of  a 
powder  when  dried,  so  fine  that  it  disappears  in 
the  cracks  of  the  skin  in  the  palm  of  the  hand ; 
each  atom  is  found  to  be  a  shell  perforated  with 
holes,  out  of  which  the  inside  inhabitant  puts  its 
feelers  and  draws  in  what  bits  of  food  it  can  find. 
They  are  found  in  the  farthest  ages  backwards, 
and  in  the   oldest   geological   strata   the   largest 
specimens  are  found ;  one  in  Canada,  three  feet 
in  diameter,  large  enough  to  have  existed  before 
Adam  was,  showing  the   general  truth,  that  the 
longer  the  animal  is  in  reaching  its  "full  growth 
the  longer  it  lives,  and  so  of  man.       v 

520.  It  must  be  the  perfection  of  bliss  to  a  child 
when    it  falls   asleep  with  its   little   hand  in   its 
mother's,  giving  that  delightful  feeling  of   safety 
and   security,  which   only  a   trusting   heart   can 
know. 


114  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

521.  Children  owe  to  their  parents  more  than 
they  can  ever  pay  them  ;  but  it  is  paid  to  your 
grandchild,  who  needs  it  more  than  you  ;  besides, 
it  was  your  indebtedness  to  your  own  parents. 

522.  Causing  a  symptom  to  disappear  is  very 
seldom  the  cure  of  any  human  infirmity.     The  true 
course  is  to  prevent  the  symptom. 

523.  Before  the  town  of  Salisbury,  England,  was 
drained,  twenty-seven  persons  died  each  year  out 
of  every  thousand;  after  drainage,  only  seventeen. 
The  drainage  about  a  family  residence  has  quite  as 
decided  an  effect  on  the  occupants  ;  the  dryness 
of  a  locality  on  which  a  house  is  to  be  erected, 
should  always  be  a  main  consideration. 

524.  Wealth  is  not  acquired  by  short  cuts,  ex- 
cept in  very  rare  instances.     Men  who  are  very 
rich,  have  become  so  in  almost  all  cases  by  slow 
degrees  at  first,  as  the  result  of  industry,  economy, 
and  incessant  self-denials  ;  and  he  who  relies  on 
any  other  means  will  pretty  surely  die  bankrupt. 

525.  It  is  said  that  the  northern  Chinese  mingle 
arsenic  with  their  smoking  tobacco,  which,  as  the 
missionaries  state,  is  never  sold  there  without  that 
adulteration,  and  that  the  "  arsenic  smokers  are  as 
rosy  as  cherubs,  and  have  lungs  like  a  blacksmith's 
bellows."    Hence  the  inference  that  arsenic  smok- 
ing cures  consumption.     But  there  are  many  who 
have  rosy  cheeks   and   strong  lungs,   who   have 
never  smoked  arsenic  ;   besides,  when   once   the 
habit  is  established  it  must  be  kept  up,  or  death  is 
inevitable. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 1 5 

526.  In  Germany  one  person  is  born  annually 
to  every  twenty-five  persons  ;  in  Great  Britain  to 
every  twenty-eight ;  in  Austria  to  every  forty-two. 

527.  A  rough  towel  or  flesh  brush  should  never 
be  used  by  a  person  in  health  ;  the  best  frictioner 
is  the  soft,  warm  hand,  as  it  aids  in  removing  the 
dead  scales  of  the  skin,  and  keeps  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  body  in  the  natural  condition  of  that 
of  an  infant. 

528.  In  answer  to  a  question,  a  bright-eyed  little 
boy  said,  "  A  sob  is  when  you  don't  want  to  cry, 
and  it  bursts  out  of  itself  ; "  —  but  pent-up  grief  is 
always  prejudicial  to  health  ;  tears  ever  bring  re- 
lief to  the  saddened  heart. 

529.  The  play  of  "Russian  Scandal "  is  amus- 
ing and  instructive  :   a  dozen  persons   around   a 
table  ;  one  writes  a  short  story  or  statement  on  a 
bit  of  paper,  then  reads   it   to   the   person   next 
him,  that  one  repeats  it  to -the  next  one,  and  so  on, 
to  the  beginning ;  the  amusement  comes  in  com- 
paring the  original  with  the  last  statement  and 
fastening  the   greatest   deviation   on   the   proper 
person,  who,  if  beautiful,  must  be  kissed  all  round. 

530.  Keeping  the  mouth  shut  saves  strength  in 
walking,  modifies  excessive  perspiration  in  sleep, 
prevents  the  vacant  appearance  so  observable  in 
country  people  when  they  come  to  the  city,  supplies 
the  lungs  more  regularly  with  air,  tempers  a  cold 
atmosphere  in  its  passage  to  the  lungs  through  the 
circuit  of  the  head,  and  tends  by  the  deeper  breath- 
ing to  the  greater  development  of  the  breathing 
organs. 


Il6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

531.  The  young  lady  who  can  make  a  boast  of 
her  ignorance  of  all  household  duties,  should  be 
allowed  to  become  an  old  maid. 

532.  Horace  Walpole  wrote  :  "  Use  a  little  bit 
of  alum  twice  or  thrice  a  week,  no  bigger  than 
half   your   nail,  till   it  has  all   dissolved  in   your 
mouth,  and  then  spit  it  out.    This  has  fortified  my 
teeth,  and  they  are  as  strong  as  the  pen  of  Junius. 
I  learned  it  of  Mrs.  Grosvenor,  who  had  not  a 
speck  in  her  teeth  till  death."     But  how  old  was 
the  great  Horace  when  he  wrote  that  ;  did  Mrs. 
Grosvenor   die  over  forty?      Many  a  worthless 
"  cure  all "  is  originated  in  the  same  careless  way. 

533.  It  was   nearer  fact  than  fiction  or  fancy 
when  the  little  expiring  girl  said,  "  Now,  mother, 
I  'm  dying,  open  the  door  and  let  the  angels  in, 
they  Ve  come  to  take  me  home." 

534.  "  Simple  remedies  "  have  a  great  attraction 
for  some  and  often  are  employed  with  fatal  effect. 

535.  There  should  be  a   thermometer   on   the 
outside   and   inside   of   every   regularly  occupied 
room  :  on  the  inside,  five  feet  from  the  floor,  to 
give  some  idea  of  what  the  comfortable  warmth  is 
to  the  occupant.     The  difference  between  in  and 
out-door  air   is    often   thirty  or  forty  degrees  or 
more ;  and  a  person,  not  knowing  it,  fails  to  pro- 
vide extra   dress,  becomes  chilled,  and  the  next 
thing  is  a  hoarseness  or  bad  cold  or  sore  throat, 
if  not  pleurisy  or  some  form  of  lung  disease,  rheu- 
matism, asthma,  or   influenza,  which  may  be  an 
annoyance  for  weeks  and  even  months. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 1 7 

536.  Remedial  means  are  called  simple,  because 
we  are   familiar  with  them  or  see  them  in  daily 
use,  but  they  are  not  the  less  dangerous  on  that 
account  in  their  application  to  diseased  conditions 
of  the  body.     A  lady  was  advised  to  apply  "  rot- 
ten apples  "  to  her  eyes  at  bed-time,  to  rectify  an 
inflamed  condition ;  two  decayed  apples  were  laid 
on  the  eyes  and  kept  in  place  with  a  handkerchief  ; 
the  next  morning  her  sight  was  utterly  destroyed. 
Green  tea  is  a  very  simple  article  :  it  was  given  to 
a  child  with  diarrhoea,  which  it  promptly  checked  ; 
convulsions   and   death    followed.     "The    grease 
from  a  candle-stick  "  was  recommended  to  an  emi- 
nent judge  to  apply  to  a  scratch  on  the  shoulder 
of  his  little  daughter  ;  in  a  few  days  she  died  of 
poisoning,  caused  by  the  chemical  combination  of 
the  tallow,  the  brass,  and  most  likely  some  other 
chance  ingredient ;  vinegar  or  the  acid  of  a  lemon 
may  have  fallen  on  the  spot  and  decomposed  the 
metal. 

537.  With  a  few  general  principles  on  health 
and   disease,   and  the   intelligence   necessary  for 
their  skillful  application,  a  person  during  a  life- 
time may  be  able  to  alleviate  or  remove  a  great 
amount  of  human  suffering. 

538.  Young  children  are  often  ailing.     The  ap- 
pearance on  the  skin  of  a  raised  red  spot,  called  a 
"  hive "   immediately   abates   all   the    symptoms  ; 
drive  it  in  by  the  application  of  so  simple  a  thing 
as  cold  water,  and  the  child  will  suffer  or  have 
convulsions  within  an  hour. 


Il8  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

539.  It  is  always  a  great  risk  to  make  any  ap- 
plication to  any  breaking  out  on  the  skin  of  the 
body  anywhere,  stronger  than  sweet  oil  or  warm 
water,  unless  by  the  direction  of  a  physician. 

540.  All  breaking  out  on  the  body  is  "  a  good 
sign  ; "  at  the  same  time  it  is  an  indication  of  dis- 
ease, in  the  sense  that  "  boils  are  healthy  ; "  the 
philosophical  meaning  is  that  nature  is  endeavor- 
ing to  throw  out,  on  the  outside  of  the  body,  cer- 
tain particles  which  were  in  the  blood  and  which 
were  poisoning  it ;  the  "  sign  "  is  that  she  is  vigor- 
ous enough  to  do  it,  if  she  had  not  been,  the  patient 
would  have  died. 

541.  It  is  as  much  a  man's  duty  to  live  happily 
as  to  live  industriously  ;  he  may  be  so  overrun 
with  business,  so  pressed  by  complicated  cares 
and  responsibilities,  as  to  rob  himself  of  all  real 
satisfaction,  and  he  enjoys  neither  food  nor  friends 
nor  family,  when  the  Mighty  One  "  hath  given  us 
all  things  richly  to  enjoy." 

542.  The  Maker  of  us  all,  whose  distinctive  ap- 
pellation is  "  Love,"  cannot   have   intended  that 
man's   condition   on   earth   should  be  a  slavery ; 
therefore  the  man  who  makes  himself  such  a  slave 
to  business,  to  money  getting,  as  to  have  no  en- 
joyment worth  speaking  of  in  anything  else,  is  not 
answering  the  end  of  his  creation. 

543.  The  measure  of  a  successful  life  is  not  the 
doing  but  the  being ;  is  not  the  getting,  but  the 
enjoying  ;  not  the  amount  of  a  man's  money,  but 
the  amount  of  his  happiness. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 1 9 

544.  He  is  the  wisest  man  and  will  live  the 
longest,  who  makes  business  a  pleasure  and  the 
acquisition  of  money  an  ambition,  as  a  means  of 
benefiting  and  elevating  and  blessing  others. 

545.  The  ability  to  make  money  is  a   talent ; 
the  ability  to  keep  it  is  two  ;  the  ability  to  use  it 
wisely  and  well  is  ten. 

546.  As  the  world  gets  older  and  more  crowded, 
the  rivalries  of  life  become  greater,  the  strife  for 
bread  more  trying,  the   ambition   for  distinction 
more  absorbing,  the  rage  for  riches  more  reckless  ; 
and  in  all  cases  those  who  insist  on  being  fore- 
most, will  enjoy  life  least  and  soonest  lose  it. 

547.  Hurry  is  the  bane  of  modern  civilization, 
and  is  often  blind. 

548.  The  busiest  man   sometimes   breaks   the 
soonest. 

549.  "  Let  alone"  is  a  grandly  effectual  remedy  in 
very  many  of  the  accidents  and  diseases  to  which 
humanity  is  liable.     It  is  the  universal  remedy  of 
the  animal  creation. 

550.  A  single  principle  admits  sometimes  of  a 
dozen  different   applications  in   connection   with 
the  well  being  of  the  body. 

551.  It  is  a  favorite  saying  and  considered  wise 
by  all,  "  Take  things  by  their  smooth  handle ; " 
and  it  might  be  a  source  of  a  greater  amount  of 
human  enjoyment  if  the  average  motto  in  refer- 
ence to  the  occupations  of  life  were,  "  Choose  the 
easiest."     There  is  no  virtue  in  aiming  to  accom- 
plish difficult  things  simply  because  they  are  so. 


120  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

552.  There  are  a   multitude  of  cures   for  old 
sores  and  new  :  from  the  entrails  of  a  live  chicken 
to  the  grease  of  a  goose ;  from  a  mashed  potato 
or  a  scraped  turnip,  up  to  a  stewed  apple,  just  as 
there  are  different  ways  of  starting  a  balky  horse  ; 
for  example,  tying  a  string  tightly  around  his  ear, 
rubbing  his  nose  with  mud,  or  giving  him  some- 
thing  to   chew.     The   principle  involved   in   the 
former  case  is  the   application   of  whatever  will 
keep   the   parts  moist  and   warm   and  protected 
against  the  air  ;  in  the  latter,  to  distract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  horse  for  a  moment,  then  crack  your 
whip,  as  the  animal  can't  think  of  two  things  at  a 
time. 

553.  Sometimes  men  are  busiest  and  work  hard- 
est in  enterprises  which  are  to  end  in  the  ruin  of 
their  fortunes. 

554.  Human  life  can  be  enjoyed  with  much  less 
of  its  glitter  than  is  generally  supposed. 

555.  No  wonder  that  most  Americans  who  have 
lived  a  while  abroad  have  an  ever-present  desire, 
and  pleasantly  cherish  the  hope  that  they  may  be 
able  to  go  back  again  ;  it  is  because  there  is  a 
quiet  and  a  composure  there  to  which  at  home 
they  are  strangers. 

556.  Taking    Great   Britain   and    France   and 
Germany  together,  there  is  more  enjoyment,  more 
that  is  pleasurable  in  domestic  and  social  life  than 
there  is  in  this  country,  because  there  the  masses 
merely  aim  to  maintain  their  place  ;  we  are  con- 
stantly striving,  with  all  the  energies  of  our  nature, 
to  get  up  higher. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  121 

557.  In  applying  a  cold  water  compress,  a  dry 
impervious  cloth,  such  as  oiled  silk,  should  cover 
the"  compress  and  extend  an  inch  or  more  beyond 
it,  so  as  to  lay  down  flat  on  the  skin,  and  prevent 
the  steam  inside  from  escaping ;  this  opens   the 
pores  of  the  skin.     The   next  compress   gives  a 
shock  or  a  check,  followed  by  a  reaction,  acting 
also  by  the  evaporation  of  the  water,  carrying  off 
the  heat  very  rapidly  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  steam.     Thus  may  intense  inflammations 
and  burning  fevers  be  safely  and  gratefully  cooled 
off,  without  any  medicinal  means. 

558.  "Compresses"  are  cold  or   hot,  linen  or 
woolen  ;  with  woolen  apply  hot  water,  with  linen 
cold.     Take  five  or  six  thicknesses  of  linen,  three 
or  four  of  woolen  ;  three  of  each,  so  that  one  or 
two  shall  be  in  the  water,  while  the  other  is  on 
the  ailing  spot,  to  be  replaced  about   every  five 
minutes,  so   as   to  keep  the  parts  as  constantly 
cold  or  hot  as  possible ;  if  you  want  to  diminish 
the  heat  of  the  part  use  the  cold,  which  should  be 
placed  in  a  vessel  of  water,  containing  lumps  of 
ice ;  if  there  is  no  appearance  of  redness  or  heat, 
but  internal  suffering   or   inflammation,  use   hot 
compresses,  thus  :  let  the  water  be  as  hot  as  the 
hand   can  bear,  press   out  so  much  of  it  as  will 
prevent   dribbling,   lay  it    quickly   on    the   part, 
cover  it  with  a  broader  piece  of  dry  flannel,  and 
this  with   a   still   broader   piece  of  oiled  silk  or 
india-rubber  cloth  ;  these  are  to  keep  in  the  heat, 
to  be  put  on  as  hot  as  possible,  and  renewed  as 
above.     Allow  no  wetting  of  the  clothing. 


122  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

559.  If   a   man   can   skillfully   and  judiciously 
apply  a  water  compress,  he  has  at  command,  at  all 
times  and  places,  remedial  means  equal   to   half 
of  any  drug  store. 

560.  A  judicious  nurse   is  worth  as    much   in 
the  sick  chamber  as  a  skillful  physician. 

561.  Almost  all  human  sufferings  can  be  alle- 
viated or  removed  by  cold  or  warm  water  ;  and  if 
the  three  questions,  Why  ?  When  ?  and  How  ?  are 
properly  decided  and  applied,  then  "water  cure" 
is  elevated  to  a  science. 

562.  If  you  have  a  bad  cold,  great  good  will  be 
done  by  a  Turkish  bath,  a  Russian  bath,  an  or- 
dinary warm  bath  ;  but  an  "  old  woman's "  bath 
will  do  as  much  good,  costs  less,  is  universally 
available,  and  is  attended  with  no  danger,  there 
being  no  need  of  going  out  of  doors  for  some 
hours,  and  thus  avoiding  the  risk  of  taking  cold. 
The  last  bath  named  is  an  old-fashioned  "  sweat," 
brought  about  by  being  tucked  up  in  bed  in  warm 
blankets,  and  drinking  hot  teas,  until  a  most  pro- 
fuse  perspiration    is   induced,   and   kept   up   for 
hours. 

563.  Water,  Exercise,  Diet.  —  The  first  in  abun- 
dance, to  keep  clean  ;  the  second  in  moderation  to 
keep  the  blood  pure ;  the  third  regular,  to  sustain 
and  strengthen  ;  —  with  these,  a  man  may  maintain 
good  health  to  the  utmost  limit  of  fourscore. 

564.  "  Over-worked  brain,"  —  such  a  thing  does 
not  exist,  if  we  mean  in  the  study  and  investi- 
gation of  philosophical,  professional,  and  literary 
subjects. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  123 

565.  When  you  are  well,  let  yourself  alone,  you 
can  never  be  better  than  well. 

566.  Hard   study  improves   the   power  of  the 
brain  and  gives  it  greater  capabilities,  but  it  never 
destroys. 

567.  Men    become   deranged   from    ill   health, 
from   business  reverses,  from  personal  mortifica- 
tions, from   mental   troubles,    from   the  effect   of 
sharp-pointed  memories  and  mental  perplexities, 
but  never  from  "  hard  study,"  if  the  body  is  kept 
in  good  health. 

568.  The   best   medicine   for   children   is   fun, 
frolic,  out-door  play,  and  unrestraint. 

569.  Never  persuade  a  child  to  eat,  or  compel 
him  to  eat  what  he  does  not  like  ;  it  is  an  unrea- 
soning tyranny. 

570.  Encourage   laughing  and   talking   among 
children  at  the  table,  it  promotes  the  circulation 
of  the  blood,  and  prevents  fast  and  over-eating. 

571.  To  take   a   meal  in  silence  at  the  family 
table  is  unphilosophical  and  hurtful,  both  to  the 
stomach  and  the  heart. 

572.  Sameness   of   food   is   a  great  drawback 
to  the  health,  for  nature  craves  a  variety  of  ele- 
ments. 

573.  The   noisiest   children   are   generally  the 
healthiest.     It  is  better  to  hear  a  boisterous  laugh 
than  a  pitiful  moan. 

574.  If   you  want  your  children  to   be  happy 
and  good,  keep  them  well,  and  show  them  a  good 
example. 


124  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

575.  Industrious   brain-work,  hard   and   heavy 
though  it  be,  promotes  bodily  health,  if  not  per- 
formed within  an  hour  of  a  regular  meal,  because 
it  works  off  the  effete  matters  of  the  system  and 
begets  a  good  appetite. 

576.  It  is  eating  irregularly  and  studying  too 
soon  after  eating,  which   destroys  the   health   of 
brain-workers. 

577.  Temperate  brain-workers,  those  who  live 
plainly  and  regularly,  are  notably  long  livers,  as 
Newton,    Herschel,   father   and   daughter,   Hum- 
boldt,  and  a  multitude  of  others. 

578.  Many  great    thinkers    and   writers   have 
died  in  their  prime  —  as  Byron,  Burns,  Coleridge, 
Shelley,  Keats,  and  others  —  of  convivial  and  other 
habits,  not  hard  study. 

579.  Among  the  hardest  thinkers  of  antiquity, 
are   the   names   of  men  who  lived  beyond  four- 
score :  as  Georgias,  Epimenides,  Isocrates,  Herod- 
otus, Hippocrates,  Zeno,  Xenophon,  and  others. 

580.  No  man  can  think  well,  or  study  hard,  on 
an  empty  stomach. 

581.  Eat  slow,  if  you  would  eat  long. 

582.  Ideas  are  sometimes  floating  in  the  mind 
for  a  long  time,  not  crystallized  into  words ;  and 
when  we  first  find  that  some  one  has  given  them 
expression  in  language,  it  is  attended  with  a  pe- 
culiar satisfaction,  and  makes  a  deep  impression 
on  the  memory.    It  is  hoped  that  this  may  be  true 
in  reference  to  many  of  the  practical  sentiments 
in  these  pages. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  12$ 

583.  One  of  the   best   means   of  keeping   the 
feet  warm,  is  to  keep  them  clean  and  dry  :  clean, 
by  daily  washing  in  cold  water ;  dry,  by  having 
the  soles  of  shoes  soaked  in   grease,  until  satu- 
rated, requiring  a  day ;  or  paint  the  bottom  of  the 
soles  with  kerosene  oil,  and  repeat  the  operation 
four  or  five  times  at  intervals  of  half  a  day,  ex- 
posing them  to  the  sun  to  dry.     Serious  disease 
is  often  caused  by  damp  shoes,  and  much  more  if 
wet. 

584.  India-rubber  shoes  being  impervious,  are 
a  great  protection  to   the   feet   in   cold  weather, 
by  excluding  the  cold  and  retaining  the  natural 
heat  of  the  feet. 

585.  It  is  always  hurtful   and  sometimes  dan- 
gerous, to  go  to  bed  with  cold  feet,  which  is  often 
the  case  with  persons  even  in  good  health,  who 
have  been  on  their  feet  a  great  deal  during  the 
day.     On  removing  the  shoes  at  night,  the  cooler 
air  condenses  the  perspiration  of  the  day,  caus- 
ing a  clammy  dampness,  and  they  soon  become 
icy  cold,  preventing  sleep,  and  inducing  serious 
ailments,  unless  warmed  by  a  fire  before  getting 
into  bed. 

586.  Many   persons   have  brought   on    serious 
sickness,  by  holding  on  to  the  knob  of  the  front 
door  while  standing  in  a  draft,  and  speaking  "  last 
words  "  to  friends  or  visitors. 

587.  In  going  out  into  the  cold  air  button  up, 
draw   on   the  gloves,   and   adjust  everything   for 
keeping  the  cold  out,  before  opening  the  door. 


126  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

588.  From    long    years    of   observation,    the 
British  government  has  found  it  a  great  preserv- 
ative of  the  health  and  life  of  their  soldiers,  and 
especially  sailors,  to  require  them  to  wear  woolen 
flannel  next  the  skin  all  the  year  round,  even  in 
the  tropics. 

589.  Persons  who  sit  or  stand  a  great  deal  dur- 
ing the   day  at   their   business,  should  wipe  the 
soles  of  their  shoes  as  dry  as  possible  at  the  door, 
and  then  have  their  feet  rest  on  a  woolen  mat, 
instead  of  a  stone,  or  even  wooden  floor,  as  they 
abstract  the  warmth  from  the   feet  all  the  time 
through  the  shoes. 

590.  Nothing    should     be     considered    trivial 
which  promotes  health  or  prevents  disease  ;  for  in 
sickness  we  are  worthless  to  ourselves,  and  more 
or  less  a  burden  to  others  ;  our  own  time  is  lost 
as  well  as  that  of  those  who  wait  upon  us,  and 
there  is  no  joy  or  gladness  in  the  blue  sky  or  the 
blessed  sunshine.     Fine  houses,  and  lovely  fam- 
ilies, and  admiring  friends,  and  millions  of  money 
-^  none  of  these  avail  to  mitigate  a  single  pain,  or 
cool  the  burning  fever,  or  give  a  moment's  sleep. 

591.  Vigorous  and  robust  health  is  worth  more 
than  millions  of  money  without  it. 

592.  The  overpowering   feeling   in    the   act  of 
dying,  is    that   of  utter  helplessness,  of  sinking 
away ;    and   the    yearning    of    the    soul    is    for 
something  to  lean  upon.     "  Don't  leave  me,  my 
son,"  were  the  last  words  of  the  great  commoner, 
Henry  Clay. 


HOW  TO  LIFE  LONG.  I2/ 

593.  When  Hume,  the  historian,  was  dying,  he 
called  for  a  pack  of  cards,  to  while  away  the  last 
moments   in   playing   whist.     When    Sir  Walter 
Scott  was  near  his  end,  he  said  to  Lockhart,  his 
son-in-law,  "  Bring   the  Book."     "  What  Book  ?  " 
"There  is   but  one  book,"  as  he  pointed  to  the 
family  Bible,  which  laid  on   the   stand,  as  if  he 
thought  that  what  was  in  that  book  was  the  only 
thing  in  the  world  that  was  of  any  worth  in  a  dy- 
ing hour,  and  as  if  he  wanted  to  lean  on  that. 

594.  As    Prince    Albert   of    England,   accom- 
plished, cultivated,  refined,  illustrious,  approached 
the  dark  river,  he  said  to  one  at  his  side,  "  I  have 
had  wealth,  rank,  and  power,  but  if  these  were  all 
I  had  how  wretched  should  I  be  now  ; "  and  then 
exclaimed,  — 

"  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee." 

595.  The   lower    grade    of   vitality   in    plants 
produces  the  male,  the   next  higher  the   female, 
and   the   third  highest  the  germ  for  a  new  life  ; 
thus  it  is  that  woman  has  a  higher  organization, 
and  a  larger  amount  of  vitality  than  man,   she 
having  to  do  the  most  in  the  production  of  the 
new  being. 

596.  Sap  ascends  in  some  plants,  at  the  rate  of 
six  inches  in  an  hour ;  at  others,  as  in  the  cherry 
laurel,  twenty-four  in  the  same  time  ;  but  in  men, 
there  are  different   rates  of  rapidity  of  develop- 
ment. 


128  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

597.  The    difference    between     the    sexes    in 
plants  is,  that  more  vitality  is  expended  in  mak- 
ing   the  female   than   is    necessary   to    make   a 
male. 

598.  In  the  vegetable  world,  the  reed  runs  up 
in  a  season,  and  is  frail  ;  the  oak  in  a  century,  and 
is  as  solid  as  the  hills  ;  so  the  slower  the  human 
body  is  in  reaching  its  maturity,  the  more  dura- 
ble is  the  constitution  and  the  longer  the  life. 

599.  The  moral  and  physical  dangers  of  mar- 
riage before  twenty,  and  being  out  of   the  mar- 
ried  state   after   twenty-five,   are    so   great,   that 
they  ought  never  to  be  encountered  without  se- 
rious deliberation,  and  from  most  pressing  neces- 
sity. 

600.  Blindness,   nervous   prostration,  incurable 
sore  throat,  and  other  maladies,  often   disappear 
when  the  habit  of  tobacco-smoking  has  been  dis- 
continued, showing  clearly  that   it  caused   them. 
Hence   the  fact,  that   not   all   who  smoke   have 
these  symptoms,  is  no  guarantee  to  any  man  that 
he  will  not  be  injured  if  he  smokes, 

60 1.  Raw  cotton,  bound  well  on  sores  and  wounds 
and  the  surfaces  of  amputated  parts,  they  having 
been  well  washed  with  camphorated  spirits,  is  a 
better  cure  than  any  poultice  ;  because  the  spirits 
kill  those  germs  of  disease  which  are  always  float- 
ing in  the  atmosphere,  while  the  cotton  is  such  a 
perfect  filterer  it  is  impossible  for  any  of  these  cor- 
rupting and  poisonous  germs  to  reach  the  sore  ; 
hence  it  heals  healthfully  from  the  beginning. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 2Q 

602.  Alcoholic    fluids,    ether,   chloroform,   and 
chloral   in  all   their  shapes,  are  narcotics,  and  if 
food   at   all,  cannot   be  considered   natural  food, 
which  animates  without  exciting  the  pulse,  except 
for  a  short  time  during  digestion,  and  leaves  no 
disagreeable  effects  behind. 

603.  All  need  at  times  some  stimulus  to  elevate 
above  depressing  circumstances  :  then  the  stimu- 
lus of   agreeable  society  is  immeasurably   better 
than   the   stimulus    of  liquor ;   the  stimulus  of  a 
happy  home  than  the  stimulus  of  a  club. 

604.  The  old  and  the  frail  should  wear  woolen 
drawers  as  well  as  shirts,  for  half  the  year  at  least, 
and  also  those  who  travel  in  winter  time. 

605.  One  of  the  most   comfortable   operations 
during  the  fire  time  of  year,  is  to  draw  off  both 
shoes  and  stockings  on  coming  into  the  house  for 
the  night,  and  hold  the  naked  feet  before  a  blaz- 
ing fire  until  most  perfectly  dry,  and  then  put  on 
a  dry  pair  of  stockings  and  warm  slippers.     Re- 
peat the  warming  before  going  to  bed  ;  if  farmers 
and  laboring  men  were  to  make  this  an  invariable 
habit  even  in  summer  time,  washing  the  feet  in 
warm  water  before  the  last  warming,  it  would  con- 
tribute very  greatly  to  their  comfort,  their  health, 
and  the  soundness  of  their  sleep,  and  would  repay 
the  trouble  a  thousand-fold  in  the  course  of  a  life- 
time. 

606.  If  the  feet  are  found  cold  after  getting  into 
bed,  rub  them  with  the  hands  and  wrap  up  each 
one  well  in  a  newspaper. 

9 


130  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

607.  It  is  said  of  Bismarck  that  everything  he 
does  is  with  perfect  system,  exactness,  and  care ; 
that  he   never  shows  any  indication  of  haste  or 
effort,  and  seems  to  have  plenty  of  time  for  every- 
thing.   It  is  the  want  of  system  and  of  doing  things 
well  at  first,  that  fills  the  world  with  its  hurrying 
and  worrying  multitudes. 

608.  The   best   material   for  inner  clothing   is 
woolen  flannel ;  the  worst,  linen  and  silk,  even  in 
summer  time,  because  in  case  of  actual  perspira- 
tion  the   material   becomes   damp,  clammy,  and 
cold,  which  cannot  be  the  case  with  woolen. 

609.  Dr.  Schlieman,  the  eminent  scholar  and  ar- 
chaeologist, mentions  that  from  fourteen  to  twenty 
he  worked  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
nine  at  night,  in  a  grocer's  store,  retailing  herrings, 
butter,  brandy,  milk,  and  salt,  grinding  potatoes, 
sweeping  the  shop,  and  doing  a  multitude  of  other 
things,  but   he  adapted  himself  to  his  situation. 
It  was  part  of  the  schooling  which  has  since  made 
him  an  undying  name  in  having  discovered  the 
site  of  ancient  Troy.    And  yet  there  are  multitudes 
of  the  young  in  this  country,  who,  although  they 
must   work  for  a  living,  would    think  it  a  great 
hardship  to  be   required  to  be  at  their  work  at 
seven  in  the  morning  and  to  leave  it  off  later  than 
sun-down. 

610.  The  best  protection  against  sickness  and 
pestilential  maladies,  is  good  living  ;  which  means 
an  abundant  supply  of  nutritious  food  well  pre- 
pared. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 3 1 

611.  A  spendthrift   sometimes   grows  careful; 
but  the  niggardly,  liberal,  never. 

612.  Desserts,  of  every  description,  if  well  made, 
are  as  healthful  and  as  nutritious  as  other  articles  of 
food  if  taken  at  the  beginning  of  the  meal,  because 
they  would  take  off  the  "  edge  of  the  appetite " 
and  we  would  not  over-eat  of  plainer  things  ;  but 
presented  after  an  ordinary  meal,  when  we  have 
already  taken  enough,  the  appetite  is  tempted  to 
excess,  nausea  or  indigestion  or  discomfort  of  some 
kind  follows,  which  we  attribute  to  the  last  thing 
eaten,  when  in  reality  the  error  has  been  in  quan- 
tity and  not  quality. 

613.  What  we  call  "  symptoms  "  in  reference  to 
sickness,  are  either  admonitions    of   nature  that 
something  is  wrong,  or  are  her  modes  of  cure,  and 
should  not  be  interfered  with  or  antagonized  in 
the  latter  case. 

614.  It  is  always  unsafe  to  check  loose  bowels 
with  internal  remedies,  especially  in  children  and 
infants,  as  the  effect  is  to  cause  convulsions  within 
an  hour,  sometimes. 

615.  Those  who  eat  the  most  can  do  the  most 
hard  work,  whether  of  body  or  brain. 

6 1 6.  It  is  not  hearty  eating  which  causes  dys- 
pepsia so  much  as  irregular  eating. 

617.  Each  sleeper  should  have  a  chamber  equal 
to  a  measurement  of  ten  feet  each  way. 

6 1 8.  Never  read  yourself  to  sleep  :  in  the  day- 
time it  strains  the  eyes,  at  night  it  endangers  fir- 
ing the  house. 


132  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

619.  Two  persons  ought  never  to  sleep  together 
in  the  same  bed  as  a  habit. 

620.  Undisturbed  sleep  is  that  which  most  in- 
vigorates and  refreshes. 

621.  Half  the  failures  in  life,  are  from  the  want 
of  faith,  patience,  and  persistence. 

622.  Energy  is  a  misfortune,  an  engine  of  evil, 
unless  well  directed. 

623.  Let  the  young  remember  that  the  road  to 
eminence  in  every  calling  is  always  through  hard- 
ship and  toil. 

624.  "  Words   are    but   air,   and   tongues    but 
clay ; "  yet  a  word  has  broken  the  heart,  and  a 
single  utterance  of  the  tongue  has  many  a  time 
made  such  an  impression  on  the  feelings,  as  to 
cloud  the  whole  of  after-life ;  hence  the  value  of 
the  Scripture  expression,  "  Set  a  guard  upon  the 
door  of  thy  lips." 

625.  No   man   has    a   right    to    say  what  he 
pleases,  even  although  it  may  be  the  truth,  if  it 
can   hurt   the   feelings  of  another,    unless   stern 
justice    requires    it.     But    a    noble    nature    can 
scarcely  be  persuaded  to  take  that  responsibility, 
—  would  rather  suffer  wrong. 

626.  That  is  no  home,  though  built  of  marble, 
carpeted  with  costliest   fabrics,  ornamented  with 
the  rarest  paintings  and   sculpture  of   exceeding 
skill,  with  all  the   surroundings  of  conservatory, 
park,  and  garden,  if  there  lives  under  that  roof 
a  fault-finding  father,  a   scolding   mother,  a  wild 
son,  a  dawdling  daughter,  or  an  ill-natured  child. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.   -  133 

627.  It  is  better  to  have  too  little  respect  for 
the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors,  than  to  be  the  ab- 
ject  slaves  of  customs   and  "  proprieties,"  which 
have  no  sense  in  them. 

628.  Among  the  greatest  commanders,  states- 
men, lawyers,  physicians,  and  divines,   there  are 
very  few  who  ever  hoarded  money. 

629.  Travel  gives  breadth   of   view  to   all,  en- 
larging both  the  intellect  and  the  heart. 

630.  A  quiet  self-possessed  air  is  the  passport 
of  a  gentleman,  the  world  over. 

631.  When  we  meet  a  man  on  the  street  any 
day,  and  engage  in  conversation,  it  may  seem  of 
no  consequence  what  we  talk  about ;  yet  it  often 
happens  before  the  colloquy  is  ended,  that  some 
•word   has   been   uttered,    some   expression   used, 
some    sentiment    announced,    some    information 
given  or  fact  stated,  destined  to  make  an  impres- 
sion on  that  man's  mind  and  memory,  which  will 
color  his  whole  subsequent  career. 

632.  Some  persons  of  a  small  mind  and  narrow 
nature  assume  the  right,  and  justify  themselves 
in  the  exercise  of  it  at  pleasure,  to  say  anything 
provided   it   is  true,    however   it   may   annoy   or 
outrage  the  feelings.    For  example,  "  Your  brother 
was  hung."    True,  but  the  injustice  of  the  remark, 
its  cruelty,  are  the  greater,  from  the  very  fact  that 
it  was  true.    The  statement  could  only  come  from 
a  heart  encased  in  adamant,  and  seared  from  all 
human  sympathies,  —  an  utter  stranger  to  all  that 
is  noble  and  generous  in  human  character. 


134  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

633.  The   use   of  porter,   ale,   gin,  and   other 
spirits  by  nursing  mothers,  to  "  make  milk,"  has 
a  direct  tendency  to  create  a  love  of  liquor  in  the 
child,  which  is  very  sure  to  lead  to  a  drunken  and 
blasted  life. 

634.  Many  a  family  mansion  has  been  built  with 
the  savings  of  a  life-time,  to  make  the  graves  of 
half  the  household  within  a  few  months,  by  neg- 
lecting to  secure  a  thorough  drainage  and  a  sup- 
ply of  good  water  for  drinking  and  cooking. 

635.  Women  recovering  from  confinement  are 
stronger  on  the  fifth  day  than  on  the  ninth,  hence 
should  not  be  kept  in  bed  longer  than  the  fifth, 
notwithstanding  the  proverbial  "  ninth." 

636.  There   is   a   general   impression   that  the 
air  is  poisonous  to  sores  and  wounds  ;  pure  air  is 
not  so,  for  it  cools  and  keeps  down  fever  and  in- 
flammation.    The   poisonous   element   is   in   the 
germs  and  spores,  which  fill   the  air  everywhere 
in   warm   weather  near   human   habitations  ;  the 
cat  and  the  dog  lick  their  uncovered  sores  con- 
stantly, and   they  soon   get  well,   because   these 
germs  are  thus  constantly  removed  ;   hence    the 
simple  application  of  dry  raw  cotton  to  a  trouble- 
some sore,  often  cures  it,  because  it  detains  the 
poisonous  germs  in  its  meshes,  acting  as  an  air 
filterer. 

637.  Before   leaving   a  sleeping   apartment   in 
the  morning,  throw  each  article  of  bed  covering 
over  the  back  of  a  chair,  or  the  foot-board,  and 
hoist  the  window,  if  the  weather  is  not  rainy. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  135 

638.  Never  attempt  to  "drive  in"  any  "break- 
ing out "  on  the  skin  ;  rather  keep  it  out  by  mild, 
moist,  warm  applications,  such  as  sweet  oil,  glyc- 
erine, or  simple  bread-and-milk  poultices ;  for  re- 
pression tends  to  cause  convulsions  or  water  on 
the  brain  in  children,  and  dyspepsia,  diarrhoea,  and 
cramps  in  the  old. 

639.  A  man  ought  not  to  be  old  at  three-score, 
either   in  body  or   brain  ;  in   mental  vigor  he  is 
really  in  his  prime,  with  all  the  experiences  and 
observations  of  a  life-time  for  his  guidance. 

640.  An  old  man  was  dying  the  other  day ;  he 
had  passed  his  three-score  years  and  ten.     Con- 
scious to  the  last  moment,  but  too  weak  to  speak, 
he   took   the   hands   of    his   wife,   and   son,   and 
daughter,  and  sister,  and  mutely  pointed  upwards, 
as  if  to  say  "  Meet  me  in  heaven."    Such  a  blessed 
thing  is  it,  in  a  dying  hour,  to  have  lived  a  Chris- 
tian life,  and  then  to  pass  away,  relying  wholly  and 
with  implicit  confidence  on  the  Bible  promises. 

641.  It  is  not  he  who  owns  the  most,  but  he 
who  enjoys  the  most  is  the  happier  man. 

642.  To  obviate   the  effects  of  an  overdose  of 
chloral,  drink  very  strong  coffee. 

643.  Instead  of  attempting  the  vain  experiment 
of  trying  to  purify  the  air  of  an  apartment  with 
chemical   compounds,  get   rid   of   it   by  opening 
every  window  and  door  and  let  the  pure  air  in. 

644.  Some  of   the  greatest  productions  of  the 
human  mind  have  been  written  under  the  stimulus 
of  the  want  of  bread. 


136  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

645.  Very  few  great  men  in  arts  and  arms,  in 
science  or  song,  have  died  rich. 

646.  A  man  sometimes  thinks  "no,"  when  he 
says  "yes  ;"  does  a  thing  contrary  to  his  judg- 
ment rather  than  go  counter  to  his  feelings —  such 
an  one  is  a  moral  coward. 

647.  It  is  possible  for  a  man  to  lend  another 
money,  not  in  kindness,  but  in  the  pride  of  show- 
ing that  he  has  money  to  lend. 

648.  When  a  noble  nature  does  a  favor   or  a 
kindness,  it  is  done  promptly,  cheerfully,  and  with 
the  whole  soul ;  it  does  not  make  a  man  get  down 
on  his  knees  to  receive  a  penny. 

649.  Too  early  success  has  often  left  a  wrecked 
life  and  a  premature  ending,  of  which  the  great 
Pitt,  and  his  successor,  Canning,  were  impressive 
examples,    because   neither   mind   nor   body   nor 
character  have  had   time  for   that   consolidation 
necessary  to  the  successful  manipulation  of  the 
affairs  of  life.     Napoleon's  early  success  gave  him 
that  overweening  self  confidence  which  laid  the 
foundation  for  his  ruin.     The  great  Washington 
was  slow  in  attaining  the  height  to  which  he  was 
destined,  but  he  died  in  his  greatness. 

650.  The  best  place  for  the  cellar  and  kitchen 
is   the   top   of   the  house ;   we  have  them  under 
it,  getting  all  their  noisome  odors  and  poisonous 
gases,  and  as  a  result  die  before  our  time. 

651.  All   eyes   are   greatly   injured,    especially 
those  of  infants,  by  opening  them  in  a  glare  of 
light  in  waking  up. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 3  / 

652.  Weak   eyes   should   be   used  as   little   as 
possible   before    breakfast,    and    no    applications 
should  be  made  stronger  than  pure,  soft,   tepid 
water,  without  competent  medical  advice. 

653.  We  rise  every  morning  with  a  certain  store 
of  strength,  which  should  be   expended  on    the 
most  important  work  of  the  day,  whether  of  body 
or  brain,  by  riding  to  business  and  walking  from 
it.     Both  brutes  and  birds  rest  after  eating. 

654.  An  author  can  write  more  easily,  success- 
fully, and  well  when  he  is  certain  that  what  he 
writes  will  be  printed  ;   it  is  something  like  the 
stimulus  which   a   large   assembly   imparts   to  a 
speaker,  helping  him  on  to  greatness. 

655.  The  consciousness  of  making  money  legit- 
imately inspires  a  man  with  a  higher  self  respect, 
imparts  to  him  a  new  energy,  a  new  life,  a  new 
courage  ;  gives  more  fire  to  his  eye,  more  anima- 
tion to  his  face,  a  firmer  tread,  a  more  elastic  step, 
and  a  happier  heart. 

656.  It  was  always  known  that  men  and  animals 
had  sensation,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  ascer- 
tained at  last  that  plants  also  have  feeling.    Wound 
one  and  it  dies  ;  touch  another  and  it  attempts  to 
retire  within  itself ;  and  not  less  than  three  kinds, 
growing  in  our  own  country,  are  known  to  attract 
insects  by  their  beauty  or  their  odor,  then  press 
or  poison  them  to  death,  and  at  last  draw  nourish- 
ment from  their  substance. 

657.  Exercise,  when  every  step  is  an  effort,  is 
always  injurious,  never  beneficial. 


138  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

658.  Never  express  an  opinion   or  even  form 
one  on  a  one-sided  representation,  for   a  single 
point  added  or  left  out  often  makes  a  difference 
as  wide  as  the  poles  asunder. 

659.  An  old  lady,  on  falling  down-stairs  for  a 
second  or  third  time,  said,  "  I  'm  all  the  time  falling 
down-stairs  ;  I  'm  going  to  fall  up  next  time."   With 
the  same  spirit  let  us  take  all  the  mishaps  of  life. 

660.  He  is  the  wiser  and  the  happier  man  who 
prefers  health  to  riches,  knowledge,  or  power ;  for 
the  last  three  can  be  acquired,  and  if  lost  may  be 
regained,  but  lost  health  is  without  a  remedy. 

66 1.  The  beauty  of  plants  and  animals  and  man 
are  all  designed  to  insure  reproduction.     The  gor- 
geousness    of  the  flower  is  to  attract  the  insect 
which  conveys  the  impregnating  pollen  from  the 
other  sex  of  the  same  plant.     The  beautiful  plum- 
age of  the  most  beauteous  bird,  like  the  fire-fly  of 
the  night,  is  to  attract  the  lover  of  its  kind,  and  so 
do  qualities  of  human  sexes  carry  away  with  ad- 
miration first,  and  softer  feelings  later  on. 

662.  Harsh  words  and  harsh  requirements  have 
many   a   time   alienated   a   child's    feelings    and 
crushed  out  all  its  love  for  home. 

663.  None  know  so  perfectly  how  to  bring  up 
children  as  those  who  never  had  any. 

664.  Mere  theorizers  have  been  the  pests  of  the 
world  in  all  ages. 

665.  Deductions  from    single  facts  are  always 
unsafe,  and  peculiarly  so  in  reference  to  the  cure 
of  disease. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 3  9 

666.  Because  a  man  lives  to  be  a  hundred  years 
old,  and  for  half  a  century  has  used  tobacco  largely 
every  day,  it  is  not  conclusive  that  another  would 
live  ten  years  who  did  the  same  thing,  for  the  cen- 
tennarian  might  have,  and  most  probably  would 
have  lived  a  good  deal  longer  if  he  had  never  taken 
a  chew  or  smoked  a  cigar  in  his  life. 

667.  In  looking  over  the  habits  of  very  old  peo- 
ple for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  secret  of 
their  longevity,  only  one  element  is  always  pres- 
ent, —  a  long  lived   ancestry,  and   next   to   that 
perhaps,  in  frequency,  is  uneventful  lives,  involv- 
ing moderation,  uniformity,  quietude. 

668.  The  odors  from  decayed  rats  fill  a  whole 
house  for  months.    To  prevent  this  keep  the  house 
clean,  and   let  every  eatable  be  placed  in  metal 
lined  receptacles  ;  bricks    are  easily  eaten   away, 
hence  all  the  drains  about  a  dwelling  should  be 
made  of  glazed  pipes.     A  young   rat  breeds   in 
three  months,  six  or  eight  times  a  year,  and  one 
or  two  dozen  at  a  time,  or  more  than  half  a  million 
in  four  years  from  one  pair  ;  hence  the  importance 
of  the  above  measures  for  keeping  them  out  of  the 
house. 

669.  Pure  candies  are  white,  without  the  flavor 
of  essences,  and  are  composed  wholly  of  sugar  and 
flour,  and  neither  hurt  the  teeth  nor  the  constitu- 
tion.    They  promote  digestion  at  meals,  and  afford 
an  essential  element  of  nutrition,  which  is  carbon 
or  warmth ;  it  is  the  excessive  use  of  adulterated 
articles  which  causes  mischief. 


140  .       HO IV  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

670.  A  little  girl  was  asked,  "  What  did  the  Isra- 
elites do  after  they  crossed  the  Red  Sea  ?  "  "  Don't 
know,  ma'am  ;  guess  they  dried  themselves." 

671.  If   you  become   possessed  of  money  and 
owe  another,  allow  no  excuse  of  weather  or  un- 
suitable hour  to  prevent  you  from  making  pay- 
ment ;  for  the  worse  the  weather,  and  the  slacker 
the  business,  the  more  will  it  cheer  and  encourage 
the  creditor. 

672.  Shun  debt  as  you  would  plague,  pestilence, 
or  famine. 

673.  Each  particle  of  pulverized   charcoal  ab- 
sorbs one  thousand  times  its  bulk  of  deleterious 
gases ;  hence  a  ham  well   smoked   and   covered 
with  it  will  keep  for  years,  and  butter  put  into  a 
clean  pot  will  keep  sweet  for  twelve  months  if  well 
surrounded  by  it. 

674.  A  large  proportion  of  throat  affections  de- 
pend on  the  ill  condition  of  the  stomach. 

675.  A  burning  sensation  in  the  throat  is  some- 
times caused  by  cold  feet. 

676.  All  nations  have  a  greater  or  less  love  for 
music  ;  its  cultivation  is  proof  of  a  high  civiliza- 
tion, and  everywhere  it  has   an  elevating  and   a 
refining  effect  on  the  character. 

677.  The     consumptive     steadily    declines    in 
strength,  breath,  and  flesh. 

678.  The  two  most  unfailing  signs  of  consump- 
tive disease  are,  a  pulse  always  over  ninety  beats 
in  a  minute,  and  more  or  less  cough  of  mornings, 
continuing  for  weeks  together. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  141 

679.  Where  do  little  boys  go  who  play  marbles 
on  Sundays  ?     "  Some  goes  a  fishing,  some  goes 
a  swimming,  and  some  goes  to  the  park,"  said  little 
tow-head.     On  the  same  principle  is  it  that  the 
Indian's  heaven  is  the  happy  hunting-grounds,  the 
Turk's  a  harem  of  beauties,  the  Christian's  a  home 
of  purity  and  love  and  joy  ineffable ;  while  the 
little  shoeless,  hatless,  curly-headed,  chubby-faced, 
ragged  urchin,  in  answer  to  a  gentleman's  question, 
what  would  he  do  if  he  were  a  king,  replied,  with 
the  utmost  confidence,  "  I  'd  swing  on  the  gate  all 
day  and  eat  molasses. 

680.  The  power  of  prejudice  is  strongly  exem- 
plified in  the  repulsiveness  felt  by  the  English- 
speaking  people  at  the  idea  of  eating  horse-flesh, 
originally  founded  in  the  Mosaic  prohibition  against 
eating  animals  which  did  not  part  the  hoof.     The 
horse  is  more  cleanly  and  more  choice  of  his  food 
than  the  ox,  and  feeds  more  exclusively  on  veg- 
etable food.     In   China,  where  the  population  is 
dense,  all  flesh  is  eaten,  whether  of  insect,  bird,  or 
beast.     There  are  half  a  hundred  houses  now  in 
Paris,  where  the  flesh  of  horses,  asses,  and  mules 
is  exclusively  sold  for  human  food,  to  the  amount 
of  two  and  a  half  million  pounds  a  year. 

68 1.  Many  a  young  man  might  make  his  own 
fortune  while  waiting  for  his  father's. 

682.  Instead  of  a  dreamy  life,  or  an  idle  wait- 
ing for  some  one  to  help  you,  pull  off  your  coat 
and  help  yourself   on  the  instant ;   such  a  spirit 
will  soon  need  no  help. 


142  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

683.  The  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls 
very  early   took  possession  of   the   human  mind 
as  a  problem  which  seemed  to  solve  most  of  the 
great  mysteries  of  life,  its  inequalities  of  character 
and  condition,  a  state  of  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments ;  it  seemed  to  satisfy  the  intense  yearn- 
ings for  an  immortal  existence  and  at  the  same 
time  to  escape  the  horrors  of  annihilation. 

684.  Put  down  your  idea  in  writing,  the  instant 
of  its  occurrence,  whether  at  midnight  or  noon- 
day, while  the  spirit  of  it  is   upon  you  ;    it  will 
never  come  to  you  with  such  force  and  power 
again. 

685.  Nervous  exhaustion  is  often  attributed  to 
over  brain  work  ;  but  it  ought  to  be  known  that 
thought,  which  is  legitimate  brain  work,  strength- 
ens the  mind  as  body  work  strengthens  the  body  ; 
bodily  power,  capability,  is  limited,  the  power  of 
thought   is  without  limit  or  boundary.     Nervous 
exhaustion  is  the  result  of  brain  worry,  that  is, 
mental   or  moral  causes,  or  of   brain  starvation. 
The  nervous  system  must  be  fed ;  must  be  sup- 
plied with  nutriment  derived  from  the  perfect  di- 
gestion of  sustaining  food  ;  dyspeptics  cannot  fur- 
nish that,  and  the  nerves  are  thrown  into  the  ir- 
ritability of  starvation  ;  they  complain  for  the  want 
of  something  to  eat ;  hence  a  starving  brain  and  a 
starving  man  have  symptoms  in  common  with  one 
suffering  from  nervous   exhaustion,  commencing 
with  exaltation,  like  that  from  liquor ;  then  comes 
exhaustion  and  failure. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  143 

686.  The  wish    or  willingness   to   lean    upon 
another,  is  ignoble ;  to  lean  on  one's  self   alone, 
is  grand. 

687.  To  be  patient  and  thorough  in  all  that  one 
does,  is  to  compel  success  in  any  calling. 

688.  Don't   rely  upon   letters   of  introduction, 
to  forward  your  views  ;  introduce  yourself  and  go 
ahead. 

689.  Success  never  did,  nor  ever  will,  come  to 
that  young  man  who  knows  everything,  —  in  his 
own  opinion. 

690.  They  soon  get  to  know  the  most  for  them- 
selves who  are  the  most  willing  to  learn  of  others. 

691.  Genius  is  only  another  name  for  the  con- 
centration of  the  faculties  of  the  brain,  or  its  ex- 
cessive development  in  one  direction ;  the  world 
would   be  the  better  and  happier  for  an  equable 
distribution  of  the  mental  powers. 

692.  He  is  the  happier  and  the  more  generally 
useful   man,   who   is   good   in   many  things   and 
great  in  nothing. 

693.  They   enjoy  life   most  whose   sources   of 
pleasure   are  diversified ;  the   man  who   can   eat 
nothing  but  meat  is  more  likely  to  starve  in  cir- 
cumnavigating the  globe,  than   he   who   relishes 
almost  anything. 

694.  The  sacrifices  which  others  make  in  their 
good  doing,  we  may  never  know.    "  I  don't  give 
much,  but  you  little  know  how  much  it  hurts  to 
give  anything,"  said  a  rich  parsimonious  old  gen- 
tleman, when  reproved  for  his  closeness. 


144  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

695.  He  is  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  of  men, 
who  begins  soon  after  one  meal   to  think  about 
what  he  shall  have  for  the  next. 

696.  The   bottom  foundation  of  an   excuse,  is 
a  vanity  or  a  lie. 

697.  It  is  a  good  rule  to  give  a  man  full  credit 
for  his  good  deeds,  leaving  the  motive,  which  we 
can  never  know,  to  a  higher  tribunal. 

698.  It  will  be  found  during  the  entire  pilgrim- 
age of  the  longest  life,  that  a  kiss  will  accomplish 
more  than  a  kick,  a  kind  word  more  than  a  threat, 
a  smile  more  than  a  scowl. 

699.  "  The  world  owes  me  a  living,"  is  a  com- 
mon saying  with  a  certain  class  of  minds.     Such 
need  only  ask  themselves,  What  have  you  given, 
or  what  have  you  done  for  the  world,  to  entitle 
you  to  the  demand  to  support  you  ?     An  equal 
fallacy  was  in  a  lazy  fellow's  complaint,  that  .he 
could   not   find    bread   for   his  family.     "  Nor   I, 
either,"  said  his  industrious  neighbor,  "  I  have  to 
work  for  it." 

700.  If  you  have  made  a  fortune  and  want  to 
retire   from   the   cares,  responsibilities,  and   per- 
plexities of  business,  and  want  to  add  to  health 
and  length  of  life  thereby,  and  especially  to  pro- 
mote your  own  enjoyment,  aim  to  have  your  time 
fully  occupied,  in   promoting  such  operations  as 
have  a  tendency  to  alleviate  the  sorrows,  the  suf- 
ferings, and  the  sickness  of  the  unfortunate,  the 
friendless,  and  the  poor ;  and  "  great  shall  be  your 
reward  in  heaven,"  for  the  Master  hath  said  it. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  145 

701.  It   is   a  great   mistake    to   attribute   any 
man's  success   in   life  to  a  single  quality,  to  his 
energy,  to   his   persistence,  to   his  genius  or  his 
talent ;  for  it  is  important  that  the  energy  shall 
have  been  preceded  by  the   exercise   of   a  good 
judgment,  in  determining  upon  what  it  shall  be 
expended  ;  and  the  same  good   quality  is   requi- 
site in  preventing  one  from  embarking  in  a  hope- 
less undertaking  ;  while  it  is  notably  true,  in  mul- 
titudes of  instances,  that   talent  and   genius  are 
every  day  perverted  to  ignoble  purposes. 

702.  To  live  long,  successfully,  and  in  the  en- 
joyment  of  good  health,  a  portion   of  each  day 
should  be  given  to  the  exercise  of  both  body  and 
brain. 

703.  Neither  brain  or  body,  ought  to  be  hard 
worked  in  early  life. 

704.  The  greater  promise  of  a  healthy  old  age, 
is  to  the  man  who  gives  the  first  half  of  life  to 
work  and  the  remainder  to  thought,  because  bodily 
labor  builds  up  and  strengthens  the  constitution, 
and    thus    lays   the  best  foundation  for  efficient 
brain-work. 

705.  One  of  the  saddest  of  all  sights,  is  to  see 
a  young  man  of  talent   and   genius  wrecked   in 
bodily  health. 

706.  Instinct  often  gives  warnings  which  rea- 
son, in  its  wisdom  and  in  its  might,  disdains  to 
notice,  and  we  die  before  our  time. 

707.  If  one  has  the  choice  of  energy  or  talent, 
the  former  will  insure  the  largest  success  in  life. 

10 


146  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

708.  Nervous  debility  ends  in  nervous  exhaus- 
tion, arising  from  an  insufficient  supply  of  nutri- 
ment to  the   nervous   system,  because  the  food 
which  the  man  eats  is  not  fully  digested.     Some 
of  the  earliest  symptoms  are  named,  so  that  they 
may  be  the  earlier  attended  to  :  accustomed  work 
grows  irksome  ;  the  closing  hours  of  the  day  are 
attended  with  greater  fatigue  ;  the  usual  sources 
of  pleasure  begin  to  fail ;   trivial  annoyances  be- 
come  more  annoying ;  domestic  matters  become 
more  irritating  ;  fault-finding  is  more  pronounced, 
more  frequent,  and  more  extended  ;  pleasures  pale, 
the  sun  no  longer  shines,  the  birds  no  longer  sing, 
and  all  nature  is  clothed  in  sackcloth  and  gloom, 
—  in  the  imagination. 

709.  They  are  happiest  and  the  longest  livers, 
whose  ambitions  are  moderate. 

710.  If  you  want  to  be  noticed,  do  something 
noticeable  and  society  will  reward  you. 

711.  Medicines,  like  all  remedial  measures,  are 
nauseous,  for  they  were  intended  to  be  disciplin- 
ary, the  discipline  being  necessary  to  remove  the 
effects  of  our  own  wrong-doing. 

712.  A  man  may  be  quick  in  manner,  decided 
in  speech,  and  inflexible  in  purpose  ;  but  he  may 
be  courteous  and  kind  for  all  that. 

713.  Make  yourself  a  head  and  shoulders  taller 
than  any  about  you.     Society  will  not  ask  how 
you  did  it,  but  the  "  report "  must  be  handed  in  at 
the  last  day  to  be  passed  upon  by  an  inflexible 
Judge. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  147 

714.  Remember  that  in  starting  out  in  life  the 
patient  removal  of  obstacles  and  triumphing  over 
difficulties,  while  essential  to  success,  gives  cour- 
age and  strength  for  greater  things  than  these, 
and  enlarges  the  capacity  for  enjoyment. 

715.  The  price  of  all  distinction  that  is  worth 
the  having,  in  art  or  arms,  in  science  or  wealth,  is 
a  life-time  of  self  denial  and  ceaseless  effort ;  and 
after  all  it  is  the  motive  for  the  end  which  makes 
life  a  curse  or  a  crown. 

716.  Talents,  misapplied  for  want  of  judgment 
in  properly  directing  them,  have  made  of  many  a 
life  a  miserable  failure,  which   otherwise   might 
have  been  a  most  magnificent  success. 

7 1 7.  The  man  who  has  a  talent  for  business  has 
no  right  to  wrap  it  up  in  a  napkin  when  he  has 
made  enough  for  his  purposes  ;  that  talent  should 
thereafter  be  assiduously  used  for  the  benefit  of 
the  race  ;   for  the   injunction  is,   "  Occupy  till  I 
come." 

718.  There  is  not  in  the  wide  universe  a  living 
thing  nor  an  atom  which  is  not  in  motion,  to  an 
end,  outside.     Shall  any  man  be  an  idler,  or  work 
for  himself  alone  ? 

719.  Whenever  it  becomes  the  settled  purpose 
of  a  man's  life  to  accumulate  money,  he  first  loses 
sight  of  others,  then  of  himself,  then  of  all  sense 
of  justice  and  right.     His  whole  existence  is  con- 
sumed in  clutching  gold,  and  death  alone  unlooses 
the  grasp.     None  loved  him  when  he  lived,  none 
lamented  him  when  he  died. 


148  HOW  TO  LIFE  LONG. 

720.  Few  are  satisfied  with  a  golden  mean  in 
the  accumulation  and  expenditure  of  money ;  it  is 
to  be  either  profuse  or  niggardly  ;  the  former  en- 
joys the  expenditure  and  benefits  others,  the  latter 
lives  in  misery  and  benefits  nobody. 

721.  The   meanest   greed   is   that   of  gold  ;  it 
curses  the  man  and  it  curses  his  progeny,  for  it 
follows  the  blood. 

722.  Said  a  little  girl  one  day,  "  What  a  pity  to 
feed  that  nice  parsley  to  the  rabbits."     She  was  a 
miser's  daughter. 

723.  The  dead  are  kept  in  a  large,  lighted  room 
at  the  entrance  to  the  grave-yard  in  Munich,  for 
the  space  of  "  twice  twenty-four  hours,"  with  wires 
extending  from  the  fingers  to  a  bell,  the  least  mo- 
tion possible  indicating  a  return  to  life ;  but  no 
such  occurrence  has  taken  place  within  the  mem- 
ory of  any  one  inquired  of.     It  was  noticed  that 
none  of  the  infants  had  such  attachments,  as  it 
was  taken  for  granted  that  the  reason  of  the  thing 
could  not  be  communicated  in  life,  hence  it  is  a 
saving  of  that  much  wire  to  the  economical  Ger- 
man ;  but   it   might  be  very   advantageously   at- 
tached to  the  toe,  for  the  instant  any  baby  wakes 
up  it  begins  to  kick. 

724.  Make  it  a  constant  study,  during  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year  and  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
night,  to   guard   against   even  an   instant's   feel- 
ing  of  chilliness ;  this  simple   precaution   would 
prevent  three  fourths  of  all  the  coughs,  colds,  and 
pneumonias  which  afflict  and  destroy  the  race. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  149 

725.  If  you  experience  a  sensation  in  the  head 
as  if  you  had  been  struck,  that  is  miniature  apo- 
plexy ;  there  is  a  weak  blood  vessel  in  that  part ; 
it  is  too  full  of  blood,  and  it  is  circulating  with 
unusual  rapidity  ;  this  causes  a  forced  strain  on 
that  weakened  blood  vessel ;  it  presently  yields 
a  drop  of  blood,  soon  a  clot  is  formed,  which  by 
pressing  unduly  on  the  brain,  arrests  the  flow  of  the 
vital  fluids  of  the  nervous  system,  and  the  man  dies. 
Eat  less  and  less  ;  this  diminishes  the  amount  of 
the  blood  promptly,  while  plentiful  out-door  exer- 
cise also  diminishes  the  amount,  and  so  energizes 
the  circulation  as  to  send  more  of  it  to  the  surface 
and  extremities,  leaving  less  for  the  interior,  avoid- 
ing at  the  same  time  haste  and  hurry  of  body  and 
mental  excitement ;  study  deliberation  and  equa- 
nimity. 

726.  When  a  decayed  tooth  begins  to  ache,  and 
a  dentist  cannot  be  immediately  secured,  the  safest 
things  to  be  introduced  into  the  cavity  to  ease  the 
pain  are  prepared  chalk,  bicarbonate  of  soda,  oil 
of  cloves,  or  strong  solution  of   hartshorn ;   cre- 
osote and  carbolic  acid,  if  introduced  with  care, 
are  safe  ;  no  other  efficient  articles  are. 

727.  The  proper  time  for  eating  fruits  of  every 
description  is  half  an  hour  before  breakfast  and 
dinner,  and  if    in    their   ripe,  raw,   natural,   and 
fresh  state,  the  acid  which  their  juices  contain, 
and  which  is  their  healthful  quality,  is  at  once 
absorbed  and  carried,  in  its  strength,  into  the  cir- 
culation. 


150  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

728.  The  weight  and  bulk  of  all  the  teeth  in  any 
person  are  always  in  proportion  ;  if  a  front  lower 
tooth   weighs   ten   grains,  the   upper   dog  tooth, 
which  has  twice  its  bulk,  weighs  twenty,  and  the 
largest  upper  jaw  tooth  thirty-three  ;  these  are  the 
average  weights  of  these  teeth. 

729.  Boils   and   carbuncles   are    put   back   by 
anointing  with  the  gray  mercurial  ointments  four 
times  a  day,  thereby  rapidly  reducing  the  inflam- 
mation and  pain. 

730.  Never  sit  or  stand  in  damp  shoes  or  in 
damp  places,  for  the  water  is  attracted  inwards  by 
the  warmth  of  the  soles  of  the  feet,  condenses  the 
perspiration,  checks  it,  closes  the  pores,  leaving 
the  feet  clammy  and  cold.     A  young  lady  alighted 
from  her  carriage  at  the  Central  Park  so  as  to  get 
nearer  the  music,  stood  on  the  damp  grass,  became 
chilled,  rode  home,  sickened,  and  died  in  a  few 
days. 

731.  Sitting  on  cold  stones,  or  damp  wooden 
benches,  even  for  five  minutes,  often  causes  seri- 
ous disease. 

732.  The  best  way  to  enjoy  things  is  to  use 
them,  and   thus   get   the  worth  of   our   money ; 
there  is  no  sense  in  gorgeous  parlors  kept  in  dark- 
ness ;  in  sofas  never  sat  upon  ;  in  diamonds  never 
worn,  or  in  leaving  money  to  be  spent  by  thrift- 
less, thankless  heirs. 

733.  Sometimes  the  reading  of  a  single  senti- 
ment  makes  an  impression   on   the   mind  which 
gives  color  and  character  to  all  subsequent  life. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  151 

734.  Plunging  a  burned  or  scalded  part  in  cold 
water  instantly  allays  the  pain,  and  in  case  of  chil- 
dren, quiets  the  alarm  and  noise  of  crying,  giving 
composure  to  attend  to  further  means. 

735.  It  quickly  causes  a  chill,  or  an  attack  of 
inflammation  of  the  lungs,  to  walk  rapidly  against 
a  cold  wind,  breathing  with  the  mouth  open  ;  but 
if  a  handkerchief  is  held  loosely  over  it,  the  in- 
coming air  is   tempered   by  the   out-going,  thus 
preventing  harm. 

736.  Make  it  a  point  to  set  apart  the  sunniest, 
lightest,  and  most  spacious  room  in  the  house,  for 
your  sleeping  apartment ;  more  than  one  third  of 
your  entire  existence  is  spent  there. 

737.  The  "Food  Cure"  may  one  day  become 
universal ;  every   once  in   a  while,  some  article 
from  the   dinner  table  is  discovered  to  have  re- 
medial merit ;  strong  sage  tea  for  night  sweats ; 
celery  for  nervousness  ;  salt,  pepper,  and  vinegar, 
for  dyspepsia  ;  and  now  it  comes  out  that  if  a  per- 
son has  tape  worm  and  eats  nothing  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  for  the  next  twenty-four  hours  will 
eat  nothing  but  the  inner  part  of  the  seeds  of  the 
squash,  or  pumpkin,  the  head  of  the  tape  worm 
will  be  discharged  the  next  day.     This  has  proved 
efficient  after  five  years  of  unavailing  treatment 
otherwise. 

738.  Read  as  little  as  possible  by  artificial  light, 
nor  before  nor  after  sun-down,  nor  with  the  light 
immediately  in  front,  but  let  it  fall  at  an  angle  on 
the  page,  over  the  left  shoulder. 


152  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

739.  Besides  an  unquiet  night,  certain  injury  to 
the  system  otherwise,  will  follow  retiring  to  bed 
within  an   hour  or  two  after   a  late   and   hearty 
meal,  especially  if  the  body  is  tired  ;  yet  a  nap  of 
a  few  moments  on  a  sofa  is  exceedingly  refresh- 
ing,  leaving  the  person  active   and  cheerful   for 
the  remainder  of  the  evening,  without  interfering 
with  the  sleep  at  night.    It  is  far  better  to  do  this 
than  to  endeavor  to  put  off  sleep  until  bed-time  ; 
the  effort  itself  is  wearying,  while  there  is  a  cer- 
tain want  of  everything  in  spirit  and  disposition, 
which  is  calculated  to  promote  joyous  and  loving 
interchanges    of  thought,  and  feeling,  and  senti- 
ment, around  the  family  fireside. 

740.  The  brain,  like  the  sea,  seems  not  to  rest 
day  or  night,  sleeping  or  waking  ;  but  we  take  no 
note  of  the  thoughts  in  sound  sleep ;   but  those 
occurring  in  unsound  sleep  are  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly remembered,   according  to  the  profound- 
ness of  the  repose;  these  remembered  thoughts 
are  called  dreams,  —  shadowy,  evanescent,  ill-de- 
fined, generally  ;  yet  sometimes,  while  dreaming, 
we  have  a  feeling  as  if  the  dream  had  occurred 
before,  or  as  if  it  were  the  continuance  of  a  for- 
mer dream  ;  this  is  dream  memory. 

741.  "Bad   weather"   may   kill   some    people, 
but  the  want  of  weather  kills  more. 

742.  The  "accidents"  of  life,  with   their  long 
train  of  calamities,  may  be  said  to  be  always  the 
result  of  ignorance  or  inattention  on  the  part  of 
ourselves  or  others. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  153 

743.  Sometimes  an  actual  occurrence  in  daily 
life  recalls  to  mind  a  dream  to  that  effect  which 
seems  to  have  become  a  reality,  but  in  the  main 
we   should  consider  them  as  mere  coincidences. 
If  scarce  one  in  a  million  of   dreams  "  becomes 
true,"  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  reason  for  re- 
garding  it  as  a  revelation,  for  we  seem  to  have 
been  taught  that  the  days  of  miracles  are  over. 
Foretelling  is  a  miracle  as  much  as  opening  the 
eyes  of  the  blind ;  and  yet,  a  Boston  lady  is  said 
to  have  repeated  a  dream  the  other  morning,  that 
she  was   terribly  murdered,  and  she  was   before 
night ;  her  husband  has  since  been  arrested  for 
the   crime.     Did   its   narration   at  the  breakfast- 
table  "  put  it  into  his  head,"  or  did  the  thoughts 
of  the  man  influence  the  thoughts  of  his  wife,  as 
he   lay  beside  her   developing   his   plan,  as   two 
persons  sometimes  find  themselves,  while  sitting 
together  in  perfect  silence,  thinking  of  the  same 
subject,  and  one  which  had  not  been  broached  in 
conversation ;  or  did  the  husband  mutter  threats 
to  himself,  all  unconsciously  as  it  were,  in  the  ear 
of  his   unsound   sleeping  wife,  and   it   formed  a 
dream   in  her   mind,  just   as  it  has  been  shown 
that   a  pistol  fired  off  near  a  sleeping  man   has 
formed  in  him  the  dream  of  a  challenge,  a  duel, 
and  a  firing  off,  at  which  he  waked  ?  this  last  is 
most  likely  the  solution. 

744.  It  is  an  unmitigated  cruelty  to  command 
a  child  not  to  cry  ;  every  tear  is  a  godsend  to  its 
little  heart,  and  unwells  its  grief. 


154  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

745.  It  has  been  stated  by  more  than  one  or  two 
American  gentlemen  of  prominence,  that  in  pass- 
ing through  Europe,  they  have  scarcely  met  with 
a  drunken  person,  and  that  therefore  the  free  use 
of  the  wines  of  the  country  did  not  tend  to  cause 
drunken  habits.     In  passing  the  whole  length  of 
Broadway  any  business-day  in  the  year,  scarcely 
a  single  drunken  person  will  be  met  in  a  week,  or 
a  month.    Europeans  must  work  for  their  bread  in 
the  daytime  ;  the  evening  is  the  hour  for  carousal. 
In    1873  there  were,  in   round   numbers,   56,000 
arrests,  of  which  55,000  were  convicted  of  drunk- 
enness.    Our  countrymen  abroad  too  readily  fall 
into  the  customs   of   the  country  in   the   use  of 
wine  ;  milk  would  be  more  nutritious,  more  sus- 
taining, and  can  everywhere  be  had  ;  in  looking 
along  down  the  dinner-table  at  Chamouni,  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Blanc,  one  day  of  the  Exhibition 
year,  when  so  much  was  said  about  the  cholera  at 
Vienna,  there  were   perhaps   a  hundred   persons 
present,  of  all  nationalities  ;  the  only  persons  not 
using  wine  were  that  good,  and  able,  and  learned, 
Baptist  clergyman  of  New  York  City,  the  good 
Dr.  Armitage,  with  his  two  accomplished  daugh- 
ters, whose  superior   taste   in   dress,  appropriate 
and  subdued,  singled  them  out  for  complimentary 
remark.     They  took  the  circuit  of   Italy  in  July 
and  August,  and  returned  home  without  an  hour's 
sickness,  with  water  their  only  beverage. 

746.  Pent-up  sorrow  will  soon  break  the  heart, 
and  wear  the  body  into  the  grave. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  155 

747.  Any  one  is  liable  to  be  surprised  at  night, 
or   in   out   of    the   way   places,  with   distressing 
coughs,  colds,  sore  throat,  croup,  and  other  affec- 
tions of  the  breathing  organs,  such  as  pain,  op- 
pression, and  difficult  breathing ;  the  reader  who 
indelibly  impresses  the  idea  on  his  mind,  will  have 
it  in  his  power  to  do  himself  and  others  a  very 
great  service  by  the  use  of  a  very  simple,  speedy, 
safe,  efficient,  and  almost  everywhere  an  available 
remedy,  thus :   take  four  thicknesses   of  woolen 
flannel,  three  such,  place  in  boiling  water,  lift  out 
one,  wring  out  the  water  as  soon  as  the  hands 
can  bear  to  handle  it,  lay  it  flat  over  the  ailing 
part,  cover  over  with  a  broader  dry  flannel,  and 
oiled  silk  or  india  rubber  over  that,  if  at  hand  ; 
in  five  minutes  have  another  of  the  folded  pieces 
ready,  raise  up  the  edge  of  the  dry  flannel,  with- 
draw the  first  and  introduce  the  second  in  its 
place  as.  quick  as  practicable,  removing  the  bed 
clothing  as  little  as  you  can,  the  object  being  to 
keep  the  skin  over  the  ailing  part  as  continuously 
hot  as  possible ;   continue  this  until  entirely  re- 
lieved ;  if  well  done  you  will  think  it  marvelously 
efficient. 

748.  The  great  Graham  bread  inventor  died  at 
fifty,  and  his  co-worker,  Alcott,  at  sixty ;  one-idea 
men  seldom  live  long,  and  always  fail  of  success. 

749.  Fanaticism  is  always  suicidal. 

750.  "Bitters,"  in  all  their  forms,  are  alcohol  in 
disguise,  and  in  many  cases  are  stronger  than  the 
best  whiskeys  or  brandies. 


156  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

751.  The  way  to  demoralize  children,  servants, 
and  others,  into  vice,  is  to  let  them  know  that  you 
suspect  them  of  these  ;  for  then  there  is  no  motive 
for  rectitude,  —  for  striving  for  your  good  opinion. 

752.  Time  only  can  soothe  the  severest  sorrows 
of  life. 

753.  The  plainest  and  strongest  practical  illus- 
tration ever  made,  perhaps,  was  by  P.  T.  Barnum, 
when  he  said,  in  an  address  in  Philadelphia,  "  I 
will  undertake,  and  give  bonds  for  the  fulfillment 
of  the  contract,  that  if  the  city  of   Philadelphia 
will  stop  selling  liquor,  and  give  me  as  much  as 
was  expended  here  for  liquor  last  year,  to  run  the 
city  next  year,  I  will  pay  all  the  city  expenses  ;  no 
persons  living  within  her  borders  shall  pay  taxes  ; 
there  shall  be  no  insurance  on  property  ;  a  good 
dress  and  suit  shall  be  given  to  every  poor  boy, 
girl,  man,  and  woman  ;    all  the  educational  ex- 
penses shall  be  paid;  a  barrel  of  flour -shall  be 
given  to  every  needy  and  worthy  person,  and  I  will 
clear  a  half  million  or  a  million  dollars  myself  by 
the  operation. 

754.  The   Duke   of  Wellington,  at  fourscore, 
kept  such  huge  fires  burning  in  his  apartments 
that  those  who  came  to  visit  him  were  compelled 
to  leave  in  a  very  few  moments  ;  but  he  kept  up 
only  that  amount  of  heat  which  was  comfortable 
to  himself;  and  so  should  all  the  old,  all  invalids, 
and  those  of  frail  constitutions ;  this  one  precau- 
tion by  such  would  be  a  very  great  protection  to 
health  and  life. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 5  / 

755.  In  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life,  when 
replying  to  the  salutation  "  How  are  you  ?  "  answer 
only  "  Pretty  well,  thank  you,"  and  branch  off  to 
some  subject  of  general  interest ;  do  not  torture 
others  nor  add  to  your  own  by  the  painful  and 
insufferably  tedious  and  distressing  enumeration 
of  your  bodily  maladies. 

756.  There  are  many  circumstances  in  which 
invalids  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  the  use  of 
the  pure,  unadulterated  wine  of   the  Scriptures, 
unfermented,  and  containing  no  alcohol  whatever  ; 
thus  made  :  pick  out  the  most  perfect  grapes,  press 
out  the  juice  rapidly,  put  it  into  a  closed  vessel, 
which  place  in  another  vessel  of  water,  raise  this 
to  a  boiling  heat  for  ten  minutes,  strain  through  a 
woolen  bag  while  hot,  put  it  into  bottles,  cork  and 
wax,  then  put  them  in  a  cool  place,  top  down,  and 
it  will  keep  pure  for  a  long  time,  if  the  directions 
are  well  followed.     Such  wine  is  greatly  nourish- 
ing to  the  weak  and  the  sick. 

757.  The   coincidence  of    a  man's   building  a 
new  house  and  dying  soon  after,  has  been  very 
frequently  remarked,  but  it  is  not  a  mere  happen- 
ing.    Men  are  not  generally  able  to  erect  homes 
to  their  own  notion  until  they  are  advanced  in 
years,  consequently  have  not  the  vigor  of  earlier 
life,  and  not  the  same  capacity  for  resisting  the 
causes  of  disease  ;  this,  connected  with  the  very 
natural  desire  to  move  into  the  new  house  as  soon 
as  possible,  leads  it  to  be  occupied  before  the  moist 
mortar  and  plaster  are  sufficiently  dried. 


158  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

758.  The  most  careful  scientific  observation,  has 
established  the  fact  that  vaccination  does  prevent 
small-pox  in  three  cases  out  of  four,  and  that  it 
does  not  communicate  other  diseases. 

759.  A  second  vaccination   should   be   had  at 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  and   if  it   leaves  a 
good  mark  the  prevention  is  perfect. 

760.  Natural   history  should  be   a  much  more 
common  study  than  it  is,  even  beginning  at  the 
elementary  schools.     The  physiology  and  pathol- 
ogy of   the  vegetable  creation  is  full  of  interest 
and   profit.     A  few  years  ago,  France   lost  two 
hundred  millions  of  dollars  by  the  Pebrine  worm 
devastation   of    the    silk    interest.     Pasteur,   the 
ablest   student  of  natural  history  living,  was  ap- 
plied to  for  information  and  a  remedy  ;  he  gave 
both,  and  thus  millions  of  money  are  saved  to  the 
nation. 

761.  When  the  king  of  Sweden  saw  his  ship's 
timber  going   to   destruction    in   his   dock-yards, 
through   the  ravages  of  an  insect,  he  applied  to 
the  great   Linnaeus,  who,    by  examining  the   in- 
sect, and  studying  its  nature  and  habits,  simply 
advised  that  the   timber   should   be   sunk   under 
water  during  that  part  of  the  year  when  the  in- 
sects were  flying  abroad  and  laying  their  eggs  ; 
the  expedient  was  a  perfect  success ;  and  it  was 
he,  too,  who  taught  the  world  how  to  prevent  the 
invasions  of  the  sea  upon  the  land,  and  washing 
away  miles   of   shore,   by  sowing   the  seed  of  a 
certain  grass  which  would  grow  upon  the  beach. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  159 

762.  If  you  are  ever  put  into  the  spare  room  of 
a  family  to  sleep,  or  in  an  apartment  on  the  north 
side  of  the  house  not  your  own,  sleep  on  the  out- 
side of  your  bed,  using  your  own  clothing,  mat, 
rug,  or  carpet,  for  bed  cover  ;  damp  bedding  has 
killed  many. 

763.  The  teacher  for  your  children  should  not 
only  be  a  Christian  and  a  scholar,  but  in  addition, 
by  all  means,  let  him  be  a  gentleman  ;  not  merely 
in  his  bearings,  but  in  his  feelings  and  sentiments. 

764.  Never  begrudge  a  liberal  salary  to  an  able 
clergyman,  to  a  competent  teacher,  or  a  good  cook. 

765.  Never  stint  your  workmen  at   the   table, 
for  the  best-fed  laborers  do  the  most  work. 

766.  The  harmonious  and  proportionate  activity 
of  body  and  brain  gives  that  vigor  of  health  which 
makes  existence  a  pleasure,  and  life  a  continued 
delight. 

767.  The  instinct  of  cleanliness  is   more   uni- 
versal in  the  animal  creation  than  in  man  ;  the 
little  bird  spends  a  good  deal  of  its  time  in  wash- 
ing itself,  in  adjusting  its  plumage,  and  in  remov- 
ing  surplusage   from  its  feathers  and  its   body  ; 
the  cat  at  once  begins  to  lick  away  the  slightest 
impediment  to  the  sleekness  of  her  fur ;  both  the 
dog  and  the  horse  roll  over  on  the  grass  and  then 
shake  themselves  with  great  vehemence,  as  if  to 
dislodge  what  they  have  loosened  ;  and  the  much 
maligned  pig  is  a  model  of  cleanliness,  and  only 
resorts  to  the  gutter  and  the  mud-puddle  when  he 
is  burning  up  with  heat. 


160  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

768.  Whether  your  child  be  of  a  low,  moderate, 
or  extraordinary  intellectual  organization,  you  may 
not  be  able  to  save  him  from  imbecility,  or  medi- 
ocrity, or  the  fate  of  a  genius ;  but  you  can  save 
him  from  criminality,  and  make  him  even  useful, 
by  giving  him  a  careful  and  efficient  moral  train- 
ing, and  thus  save  him  from  being  a  fool   or  a 
fanatic. 

769.  Ignorance  or  recklessness  of  some  of  the 
most   common  things   often   endanger  life.     Dr. 
Robert  Macnish,  of  literary  fame,   acknowledges 
that  at  four  different  times  he  unnecessarily  im- 
periled his  health.     At  fifteen  he  induced  a  dan- 
gerous brain  fever  by  injudicious  habits  of  study  ; 
at  nineteen  by  excessive  efforts  in  wrestling  and 
jumping,  —  violent  peritonitis  was  the  result.  After 
that  he  had  an  attack  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs 
as  a  result  of  "  dissecting  "  at  an  open  window,  in 
midwinter,  for  several  hours  ;  and  last,  a  dreadful 
fever  from  dancing  all  night  and  going  out  into 
the  winter  air  without  any  cloak  or  overcoat,  get- 
ting thoroughly  chilled  before  reaching  home. 

770.  Half  of  all  unvaccinated  persons  who  are 
attacked  with  small-pox,  die. 

771.  The  infant  should  be  vaccinated  within  a 
month  of  birth,  and  if  repeated  at  fourteen,  and 
two  good  marks  are  left,  it  is  an  almost  certain 
and  perfect  preventive  of  small-pox. 

772.  If  the  moral  education  of  the  child  does 
not  keep  pace  with  the  intellectual,  he  is  sure  to 
become  a  dangerous,  bad  man. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 6 1 

773.  Dr.    Combe  considered  "the  preservation 
of  mental  and  bodily  health  a  moral  duty,"  and  he 
might  have  added,   a   duty  which   would  always 
bring  with  it  a  rich  reward  of  real  enjoyment  of 
life. 

774.  Farmers  do  not  live  as  long  as  philoso- 
phers, because  they  have  too  little  brain  work,  too 
much  body  work,  and  pay  too  little  attention  to 
the  laws  of  health  and  life  ;  there  is  not  enough 
variety  in  their  pursuits  ;  not  enough  of  thought- 
compelling  subjects   to    cause   that   activity   and 
energy  of  circulation  which  is  essential  to  health. 
A  man,  to  be  well,  must  exercise  the  whole  body, 
and  the  brain  is  a  part  of  it  ;  and  the  latter  will, 
just  as  certainly  as  the  former,  become  the  subject 
of  disease,  unless  its  powers  are  brought  into  requi- 
sition, —  earnest,  active,  and  frequent. 

775.  Within  the  last  two  hundred   years,   the 
observation  of  physicians  on  the  causes  of  disease, 
the  dissemination  of  information  as  to   the  best 
method  of  removing  these  causes  and  spreading 
the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  health  and  life,  have 
resulted  in   doubling   the  average  of  human  ex- 
istence.    The  truth  is,  the  nobility  of  the  medical 
profession  has  never  been  appreciated  except  by 
the  well-informed  few. 

776.  Let  beautiful  flowers  be  everywhere   and 
at  all  seasons  on  the  mantel  of  the  sick,  on  the 
window-sill  of  the  rich,  on  the  tea-table,  the  break- 
fast-table, the  dinner-table  ;  the  very  sight  of  them 
enlivens,  elevates,  purifies. 

ii 


162  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

777.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  old  people  to  fall 
down-stairs  and  become  crippled  for  life,  or  fatally 
injured.     Sir  Charles  Lyell  died  from  an  accident 
of  this  kind,  as  did  also   an   eminent   American 
bishop.     Most  of  these  mishaps  take  place  in  the 
darkness  ;  the  rule  should  be  at  all  times  to  first 
take  hold  of  the  banisters  or  railing  with  a  firm 
grip,  before  a  step  is  taken  ;  then,  in  making  the 
first  step,  strike  the  heel  against  the  edge  of  the 
step,  or  "  riser,"  and  let  the  foot  fall  perpendicular- 
ly ;  this  insures  that  it  shall  not  fall  on  the  edge 
of  the  step  ;  in  addition,  when  nearing  the  bottom, 
push  the  foot  out  on  the  stair,  to  see  if  it  comes  to 
an  edge  ;  if  so,  you  are  not  down  ;  if  not,  you  are 
on  the  level  floor.     It  is  better  to  begin  these  pre- 
cautions early  in  life,  than  by  the  neglect  of  them 
to  break  your  invaluable  neck. 

778.  Rest,  quiet,  and  warmth,  are  the  idolatries 
of  the  old. 

779.  The  moral,  mental,  and  physical  character 
of  a  man  is  largely  influenced  by  what  he  habitu- 
ally eats  and  drinks. 

780.  The  condition  of  the  mind  notably  affects 
the  character  of  the  bodily  secretions  ;  cheeriness 
increases  and  improves  ;  depression  decreases  and 
degenerates. 

781.  A  light  heart  insures  a  good  digestion. 

782.  The  slowest  worker  does  the  thing  the 
best,  and  with  the  least  labor  at  the  end  of  a  life 
time ;  for  his  energies  being  husbanded  last  the 
longer,  and  he  outlives  the  hasty  folk. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  163 

783.  Work  in  time,  and  live  healthily  and  long ; 
rest  in  eternity,  and  live  forever. 

784.  If  you  want  to  live  long  and  happy,  be 
busy  in  that  which  is  remunerative,  useful,  and 
good. 

785.  The  best  sleeper  is  the  "best  man"  for 
hard  work,  whether  of  head  or  hand. 

786.  The  man  who  spends  his  energies  deliber- 
ately, has  the  most  inexhaustible  bank  to  draw 
upon,  and  will  draw  the  longest. 

787.  The   unappreciated   living   often    become 
the  glorified  dead,  when,  alas !  the  tardy  honors 
can  do  them  no  good ;  the  loudest  paeans  never 
reach  the  ear  of  death  ;  in  life,  the  faintest  smile, 
the  lowest  whisper,  the  shortest  word  of  encour- 
agement would  have  lighted  and  lifted  up  an  al- 
most breaking  heart  when  disappointed,  and  baf- 
fled, and  weighed  down  by  crushing  burdens  to 
the  very  borders  of  despair,  without  appreciation, 
without  sympathy  the  world  over,  they  worked 
wearily  on.     Such  were  Fulton,  and  Morse,  and 
Goodyear,  and  Howe,  whose  fame  is  now  world 
wide. 

788.  Many  think  they  are  ridding  the  sick-room 
of  noisome  odors  by  introducing  a  stronger  one, 
as  the  burning  of  sugar  on  red-hot  coals,  which 
really  but  adds  to  the  impurity  of  the  air ;  the 
only  perfect,  and  the  speediest  remedy  is,  to  open 
the  windows  and  doors  to  create  a  draught  which 
shall  carry  the  bad  air  out  of  the  house,  and  let  it 
go  skyward. 


164  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

789.  The  first  dollar  saved  by  a  child,  is  the  first 
foundation-stone   laid   towards   a   successful    life, 
financially,  for  the  ambition  grows  upon  him  ;  he 
spends  the  smaller  sum  that  it  may  bring  in  the 
larger ;   hence,   he   never   bets,   never    associates 
with  spendthrift  companions,  and  only  buys  what 
will  "  show  for  itself." 

790.  Observant  farmers  know  that  a  cow  will 
lose  half  the  percentage  of  cream  if  she  is  milked 
soon  after  being  beaten,  or  worried  by  the  dogs, 
or  in  any  other  way  kept  in  a  state  of  unpleasant 
excitement.     Even  milk-maids  have  noticed  that 
when  they  laugh  and  joke  while  milking,  and  are 
full  of  their  fun  generally,  the  animals  give  down 
their  milk  in  larger  quantities,  and  with  richer 
cream.     A  mother  was  suddenly  and  greatly  ex- 
cited, but  becoming  quieter,  she  nursed  her  child, 
which  in  a  few  moments  fell  into  a  fit.     Let  the 
generous  husband  make  a  manly  note  of  this,  and 
act  accordingly  towards   the  wife  of   his  bosom 
during  all  her  nursing  days  ;  treating  her  with  the 
highest  possible  respect,  tenderness,  and  courtesy. 
Be  a  lover  once  more ;  say  pleasant  things  ;  do 
pleasant  things  ;  arrange  pleasant  surroundings ; 
devise   pleasant   surprises,   and   so   manage   that 
there  shall  be  always  around  her  an  atmosphere  of 
peace  and  love  and  elevation.     On  reflection,  if 
this  were  made  perpetual,  a  very  large  percentage 
of  happiness  would  be  added  to  domestic  life,  and 
the  children  would  be  more  certain  to  grow  up 
healthy,  hearty,  and  happy,  refined  in  manners, 
manly  in  conduct,  and  irreproachable  in  character. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  165 

791.  In   a  public   speech   at    Manchester,   the 
British  Premier,  Disraeli,  said  :  "  Public  attention 
should  be  concentrated  on  sanitary  legislation  ; " 
when,  in  addition  to  that,  the  individual  shall  con- 
sider it  his  duty  and  his  study  to  keep  well,  the 
average  of  life  will  be  largely  increased,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  the  people  will  be  greatly  enhanced. 

792.  It  would  not  be  amiss  to  have  a  more  gen- 
eral acquaintance  with  the  use  of  barometers  ;  the 
lower  they  fall,  the  heavier  and  more  impure  is 
the  atmosphere ;  hence  many  diseases  increase  in 
gravity  towards  sundown,  when  the  atmosphere 
is  heavier,  not  only  by  reason  of  its  dampness, 
but  by  incidental  impurities  which  the  cooler  air 
condenses  on  the  surface. 

793.  "  Aim  high  "  is  a  good  motto  for  the  young, 
but  it  is  at  least  questionable  whether  it  is  well  to 
be  so  often  directing  the  attention  of  youth  in 
public  addresses  to  the  possibility  that  any  one  of 
them  may  become  a  governor,  an  all-conquering 
general,  or  president  of  the  United  States,  when 
it  is  impossible  for  more  than  one  in  a  million  to 
be  seated  in  the  chair  of  the  great  Washington. 
It  would  be  wiser  to  direct   attention  to   more 
moderate  and  more  certainly  attainable  objects, 
by  less   desperate  and   less  frantic   efforts,  with 
the  result  that  life  would  be  less  feverish,  less 
frequently  a  disastrous  failure,  and  more  often  a 
creditable  success,  and  withal,  of  longer  duration. 

794.  A  good  heart,  good  nature,  and  good  health, 
are  the  peerless  three. 


1 66  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

795.  Sedulously  guard  against  getting  into  the 
rut  of  one  subject,  of  dwelling  upon  one  idea,  for 
several  great  scholars  have  become  insane  who 
have  made  the  prophecies  their  study,  and  man}' 
a  mind  has  been  wrecked  in  endeavoring  to  devise 
perpetual  motion. 

796.  We  build  our  houses  with  spacious  doors 
and  wide  windows  ;  but  we  shut  out  the  delicious 
air  by  closing  the  doors,  and  exclude  the  cheering 
light  and  the  glorious  sunshine  by  inner  shutters 
and  two  or  three  layers  of  curtains. 

797.  We  would  be  all  healthier  if  our  chambers 
contained  nothing  but  a  chair,  a  table,  a  bed,  and 
a  strip  of  woolen  carpet  at  its  side,  for  curtains 
and  furniture  gather  dust  and  dampness,  and  har- 
bor poisonous  emanations.  , 

798.  The  out-door  sunshine  gives  us  health,  not 
only  for  the  pure  air  we  breathe,  but  the  sunlight 
itself  contains  certain  elements  which  impart  life 
and  strength,  and  health  to  the  blood. 

799.  There  are  very   many  who  are  quite  in- 
different as  to  the  condition  of  the  inner  garments 
as  long  as  the  outside  is  unexceptionable. 

800.  That  family  is  saved  whose  father  spends 
his  evenings  at  home  to  entertain  and  amuse  his 
wife  and  children. 

80 1.  One  of  the  best  ways  of  cultivating  self 
respect  and  commanding  the  respect  of  others,  is 
to  dress  with  a  faultless  taste ;  meaning  thereby 
a  scrupulous  cleanliness  and  fittingness,  even  if  in 
calico  or  homespun. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  1 67 

802.  People,  like  plants,  grow  pale  and  puny  if 
the  sun  is  shut  out.     Good  health  is  the  sunshine 
of  the  body  ;  a  cheery  disposition  is  the  sunshine 
of  the  soul. 

803.  Washington  Alston,  the  distinguished  art- 
ist, stepped  abruptly  from  a  door  which  he  was 
about  entering  to  attend  a  party,  turned  suddenly 
round  and  went  home,  because   he  remembered 
having  a  hole  in  one  of  his  stockings. 

804.  The  young  man  who  makes  a  gain  by  de- 
ception, will  cheat  and  steal  later  on,  when  he  is 
sure  of  not  being  found  out. 

805.  The  married  man  who  takes  his  hat  and 
passes  into  the  street  with  his  cigar  in  his  mouth 
after  supper  or  late  dinner,  to  be  absent  until  bed- 
time, voluntarily  sacrifices  privileges  and  blessings 
which  are  among  the  greatest  and  most  happify- 
ing  in  life. 

806.  There  is  perhaps  no  quality  which  has  a 
more  pervading   influence  in  giving  color  to  £he 
whole  character,  than  the  strictest  truthfulness,  for 
it  is  the  foundation-stone  of  honesty  and  an  all- 
pervading  integrity. 

807.  There  is  doubtless  a  remedy  for  every  dis- 
ease in  the  rich  stores  of  nature,  which  will  be  dis- 
covered in  time. 

808.  There  is  perhaps  not  a  plant  that  grows 
which  does  not  have  the  power  either  to  cure  dis- 
ease, to  nourish  the  system,  to  meet  the  tastes,  or 
supply  some  want  to  man  ;  for  the  beneficence  of 
the  Omniscience  is  all-pervading. 


1 68  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

809.  Disease  is  a  blessing,  for  it  is  nature's  ef- 
fort to  preserve  the  body,  —  her  method  of  throw- 
ing poisons  out  of  the  system  ;  and  whatever  of 
discomfort  there  is  in  it,  is  to  call  a  rational  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  invite  our  cooperation  with  nature 
to  promote  .the  process  of  cure. 

810.  He  will  be  the  most  successful  physician 
who  first  discovers  what  nature  is  attempting  to 
do,  and  is  most  skillful  in  his  devices  for  promptly 
and  efficiently  aiding  her. 

8 1 1.  The  first  gallon  of  sweet  cider  bought  for 
family  use  is  the  first  step  taken  towards  making  a 
drunken  household  ;  for  before  the  gallon  is  gone 
there  is  a  looking  for  it,  and  another  is  purchased  ; 
but   every   day   it    gets    more    and    more    sour, 
stronger,  more  and  more  alcoholic,  and  before  one 
knows  it  it  is  felt  to  be  a  need ;  soon  hard  cider 
is  in  daily  use,  and  when  the  cider  season  is  over 
a  necessity  is  felt  for  a  substitute  ;  then  the  way 
is  steadily  downwards  to  a  drunkard's  grave. 

812.  The  man  who  has  a  hobby  which  gives  a 
pleasurable  mental  occupation  in  the  leisure  hours 
of  harder  work,  not  only  has  a  spring   of  daily 
satisfaction,  but  by  daily  withdrawing  from    the 
pressing  cares  of  business,  he  changes  the  current 
of  his  thoughts  and  prevents  his  whole  existence 
from  becoming  an  automatic  routine  to  dwarf  his 
intellect,  and  wear  out  his  body  prematurely  ;  be- 
sides, mental  power  is  gained  by  the  digression, 
and  his  thoughts  are  clearer  and  stronger  for  the 
work  before  him. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  169 

813.  Men  may  not  make  any  remark  about  the 
dress  of  their  wives,  and  may  even  affect  to  know 
nothing  about  it,   yet   they  notice   instantly  the 
slightest  deviation  from  taste  or  tidiness,  and  for  a 
woman  to  appear  at  the  breakfast  table  with  the 
least  appearance  of  negligence  in  her  toilet  is  to 
court  estrangement  and  disrespect. 

814.  "Perspiration"   refers   the   mind   to  that 
condition  which  exhibits  drops  of  water  on  the 
skin,  but  there  is  an  invisible,  called  "insensible" 
perspiration,  by  which  water  is  carried  from  the 
body  in  the  shape  of  invisible  vapor ;  the  office  of 
this  perspiration  is  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the 
system  at  one  uniform  standard  in  all    latitudes 
and  in  all  seasons  of  the  year ;  answering,  how- 
ever, another  purpose,  not  less  essential,  of  carry- 
ing out  of  the  body  those  waste  and  useless  mat- 
ters which,  if  permitted  to  remain  in  it  even  for  a 
few  hours,  would  poison  the  whole  blood  and  de- 
stroy life  in  a  day  ;  these  vapors  come  out  through 
the  pores  of  the  skin,  so  small  that  half  a  pea 
would  cover  a  million  of  them  ;  cold  closes  these 
pores,  which  is  called  "checking  perspiration;" 
hence  the  danger  of  damp  clothing,  damp  rooms, 
or  exposure  to  raw,  cold  winds. 

815.  The  essence  of  all  disease  is  the  want  of 
some  element  to  be  supplied  to  the  system  or  to 
be  eliminated  from  it. 

8 1 6.  "  Cold  water  cure"  is  not  an  appropriate 
phrase,  for  warm  water  is  more  widely  applicable 
for  the  removal  of  pain  and  sickness  than  cold. 


I/O  HOW  TO  LIFE  LONG. 

817.  It  is  damp  air  which  kills,  not  the  cold 
air  and  still  atmosphere  even  of  zero. 

8 1 8.  Scientific  investigation  is  constantly  add- 
ing to  the  stores  of  remedies  for  the  cure  of  dis- 
ease.    At  the  same  time  the  steadily  increasing 
average  of  human  life  from  twenty  to  forty  years 
within  the  last  three  centuries,  is  more  the  result 
of  an  increasing  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  sick- 
ness,  and   the   methods   of  counteracting  them. 

819.  Ventilation  is  a  good  thing,  yet  many  per- 
sons are  ventilation  mad.    • 

820.  To  enter  a  public  vehicle  when  heated  by 
a  previous  walk,  and  to  open  a  window  because 
the  air  feels  close,  is  to  invite  death. 

821.  It  is  less  dangerous  to  faint  in  an  impure 
warm  air,  than  to  risk  an  attack  of  inflammation 
of  the  lungs  by  a  draft  of  cold  pure  air. 

822.  More  sudden  deaths  in  winter,  especially 
among  the  old,  result  from  pneumonia  or  inflam- 
mation of  the  lungs,  than  from  almost  any  other 
malady,  usually  proving  fatal  within  a  week,  and 
even  in  recoveries  leaving   effects    of  very  great 
liability  to  all  lung  affections  for  the  remainder 
of  life.     The  cause  of  this  dangerous  disease  in 
almost   every  case   is   chilliness,   from   whatever 
means,  but  most  from  exposure  to  raw,  damp  air 
and  cold  winds  ;  emerging  from  heated  rooms  into 
the  colder  out-door  air  without  the  precaution  of 
bundling  up,  keeping  the  mouth  closed,  and  mov- 
ing briskly  for  the  first  few  moments  so  as  .to 
keep  the  blood  in  active  circulation,  and  thus  pre- 
vent chilliness. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  171 

823.  Whatever  causes  a  chill,  can  cause  inflam- 
mation of  the  lungs,  which  never  comes  on  with- 
out a  chill. 

824.  The  structure  of  the  lungs  is  exceedingly 
delicate,    and    they   are   very   sensitive   to    cold. 
They  are  composed  of  six  hundred  millions  of  air 
cells  or  bladders,  which  if  cut  open  and  spread  on 
a  wall  would  cover  six  feet  square,  and  being  at 
a  temperature  of  ninety-eight  degrees  all  the  time, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  a  sudden  exposure  of  so  large 
a   surface   to  an   out-door  dampness  when  it  is 
"  freezing  cold  "  at  thirty-two  degrees,  has   such 
an  injurious  effect  on  the  health ;  try  a  piece  of 
ice,  even  three  inches  square,  on  the  less  delicate 
skin  and  notice  the  shock  to  the  system. 

825.  A  damp   wind,  with  the  thermometer  at 
forty,  is  more  injurious  to  the  health  than  a  still, 
dry  air  below  zero,  because .  it  carries  the  heat 
away  from  the  body  with  greater  rapidity. 

826.  The  scrapings  of  the  walls  of  dwellings, 
especially  of  sleeping  rooms,  are  sold  at  a  pre- 
mium in  some  eastern  countries  and  used  as  val- 
uable fertilizers.     This  is  because  the  odors  and 
gases  condense  upon  the  walls  and  harden,  and 
these  accretions,  going  on  for  years,  form  a  con- 
centrated material  which  greatly  enriches  the  soil. 

827.  However  warm  the  weather  may  be  in  the 
early  spring,  it  is  never  safe  to  lay  aside  a  single 
article  of  winter  clothing ;  for  however  warm  at 
noon,  the  air  of  sunrise  and  sunset  is  always  raw, 
damp,  and  sepulchral. 


172  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

828.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  kidneys 
send  out  of  the  body  two  ounces  of  water  every  hour, 
and  the  skin,  by  perspiration,  one  ounce,  averaging 
about  four  pints  of  fluid  every  twenty-four  hours. 

829.  The  skin  and  the  kidneys  supplement  each 
other  —  work   into   each   other's    hands ;    if   the 
pores  of  the  skin  are  closed  by  the  application  of 
cold  in  any  way,  less  water  is  discharged  in  that 
direction  and  more  by  the  kidneys ;  if  the  pores 
are  made  to  open  more  widely  by  warmth  or  exer- 
cise, the  water  comes  out  so  freely  that  we  can  see 
it,  and   we   call   it   "  sweat ; "    then  the  kidneys 
throw  off  less  ;   hence,  in  summer  there  is  less 
urination  than  in  winter,  and  it  is  more  highly 
colored,  because  more  condensed,  the  more  watery 
particles   having   been   evaporated  ;    so,   also,   in 
fevers.    In  winter,  the  urine  is  clearer,  more  limpid, 
more  free,  more   frequently  passed,  because  less 
water  goes  out  of  the  skin. 

830.  In   the  course  of  years  it  is  found  that 
certain  wards  in  hospitals  for  particular  diseases, 
become  so  infected  that  persons  who  are  put  in 
rooms   faultlessly  clean   are   pretty   sure  to  die. 
These  facts  should  suggest  that  public  buildings, 
especially  churches,  should  have  all  the  doors  and 
windows  opened  as  soon  as  the  people  have  left 
the  building,  so  that  all  impure  matter  may  escape. 
If  allowed  to  condense  they  are  rewarmed  at  the 
next  meeting. 

831.  From  November   to  May,  bed-chambers 
should  be  aired  at  noon  only,  certainly  not  later 
in  the  day. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 73 

832.  Novel  reading  is  the  alcohol  of  the  brain 
and  can,  at  times,  be  indulged  in  safely  and  to  ad- 
vantage in  adult  life,  for  there  are  occasions  of  de- 
pression in  all,  of  discouragement ;  times  when  the 
mind  is  racked  with  apprehension,  with  perplexity, 
when  no  amount  of  thought  or  planning  can  avail, 
as  on  Sundays,  or  on  shipboard,  or  after  coming 
home  from  the  business  of  the  day  ;  under  such 
circumstances,  to  plunge  into  a  diverting  or  an  ex- 
citing novel  brings  into  activity  altogether  differ- 
ent departments  of  the  brain,  draws  the  excess  of 
blood  away  from  those  which  have  been  so  exer- 
cised as   to   have  lost  their  natural  balance  and 
have  become  exhausted  ;  by  this  diversion,  they 
are  rested,  recuperated,  gather  their  old  power, 
and  then  can  go  back  and  work  upon  the  old  sub- 
ject with  the  old  time  energy  and  effect. 

833.  Milk  and  water  people,  the  smirky  folk; 
those  agreeable  stupidities  who  assent  to  every- 
thing you  do  or  say,  who  never  did  or  could  do 
anything  but  smile  and  nod  to  every  assertion,  of 
what  account  are  they  ?     They  have  no  cream  or 
kernel  in  them  —  nothing  substantial. 

834.  The  chilly  evenings  of  autumn  often  excite 
into  disease  the  malarial    influences  with  which 
the  system  was  impregnated   at  the   seaside,  the 
springs,  and  farm-houses  ;  hence,  persons  often  get 
sick  soon  after  coming  home  from  their  summer 
excursions,  who  would  not,  if  they  had  remained 
at  home,  or  if  they  had  kindled  fires  in  the  house 
earlier. 


1/4  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

835.  The  beer  drinker  has   a  worse  appetite, 
loses  his  sight  earlier,  has  less  power  of  recovering 
from  bodily  injuries,  and  dies  earlier  than  he  who 
drinks  nothing  stronger  than  water,  tea,  and  coffee. 

836.  Several  forms  of  gouty  pains,  the  suffering 
from  concretions  about  the  toe  and  finger  joints, 
and   rheumatic   agonies  are   often  promptly  and 
gratefully  relieved,  as  well  as  very  many  other 
pains,  thus  :  rinse  woolen  flannels  in  water  as  hot 
as  can  be  borne,  wring   out,  fold   up  in  four  or 
five   thicknesses  and   lay  on  the   suffering  spot ; 
as  soon  as  possible  cover  over  with  a  dry  folded 
flannel  larger  than  the  damp  one,  cover  all  with  a 
piece  of  oiled  silk  to  keep  in  the  steam  and  pre- 
serve the  heat  as  long  as  possible ;  renew  every 
five  or  ten  minutes,  according  to  the  intensity  of 
the  pain.     There  should  be  two  or  three  sets  of 
flannels,  so  as  to  have  a  hot  one  on  the  painful 
spot  all  the  time,  without  a  moment's  intermission. 

837.  If  a  man  is  tired,  worn  out  at  night,  his 
whole  body  is  weak,  every  muscle  of  it ;  the  stom- 
ach, which  is  a  combination  of  muscles,  has  its 
share  of  the  debility  ;  the  entire  man  yearns  for 
rest ;  to  require  him  to  begin  another  day's  work 
at  once  would  be  an  absurdity ;  and  yet  many  do 
not  hesitate  to  eat  a  hearty  supper  when  greatly 
wearied,  and   then   lie  down   to  sleep,  while   the 
stomach,  before  it  can   possibly  rest,  must  work 
five  hours  incessantly,  in  order  to  digest  the  supper 
and  pass  it  out  of  itself.     If  it  did  not  thus  work, 
the  man  would  die,  before  the  morning,  with  con- 
vulsions or  cramp  colic. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  1/5 

838.  The  best  time  to  bathe  is  in  the  morning 
on  rising,  for  the  vigorous ;  for  all  others,  about 
three  hours  after  breakfast. 

839.  The  first  step  towards  making  a  man  of 
your  son,  is  to  train  him  to  earn  what  he  spends  ; 
the  next  best  step  is  to  teach  him  how  to  save  his 
earnings. 

840.  There  is  a  latent  feeling  in  almost  every 
man's  mind,  that  those  who  have  lived  before  us 
knew  a  great  deal  less  than  we  do  ;  this  is  espec- 
ially  the   case   with   the    young   in   their  teens. 
Said  a  youth  on  a  visit  to  the  old  farm-house  dur- 
ing vacation,  "Father,  do  you   know   there   are 
three  birds  on  the  dish  ?  "    "  No,  my  son.     How 
do  you  make  that  out  ?  "    Pointing  to  them,  "  That 
is  one,  and  that  is  two,  and  everybody  knows  that 
one  and  two  make  three."     "  Waiter,"  said  the  old 
man,  "  take  this  bird'  to  your  mistress,  and  bring 
the  other  to  me,  my  son  can  have  the  third  one." 
Making  glass  was  long  supposed  to  be  a  modern 
discovery,  but  it  has  been  found  in  the  excavations 
at  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  where  it  has  lain 
buried  for  two  thousand  years.     The  calculations 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  reference  to  the  times 
of  the  planets  were  as  accurate  as  ours.     To  this 
very  day  we  send  to  the  land  of  Tubal  Cain,  to 
Damascus,  for  steel  to  make  the  main  springs  for 
our  finest  chronometers,  and  the  oil  and  wine  for 
the  sick  of  three  thousand  years  ago  have  never 
been  improved  upon  as  medicinal  agents  in  vari- 
ous ailments. 


176  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

841.  Of  two  persons   taking  exercise  for  the 
health,  one  walking  five  miles  to  a  post  and  then 
walking  back  again,  another  receiving  an  encour- 
aging remuneration  for  the  same,  the  latter  would 
derive  many-fold  more  benefit. 

842.  Sometimes  the  very  men  who  during  their 
earthly  pilgrimage  were  working  out  the  greater 
problems  of  the  ages,  were  bedaubed  by  the  scur- 
rility of  their  cotemporaries,  and  thought  fanatical 
if  not  insane,  but  their  biographies  after  ,death 
have  made  them  out  the  world's  benefactors. 

843.  A  man  can  speak  more  efficiently  when  he 
is  full  of  his  subject  than  when  he  is  full  of  him- 
self. 

844.  Dyspepsia  is  almost  always  caused  by  eat- 
ing between  meals. 

845.  It  is  a  bad  practice  to  get  into  the  habit  of 
having  the  feet  resting  on- something  artificially* 
warmed ;  it  weakens  the  circulation  and   nature 
seems  to  look  for  it  more  and  more  ;  true  natural 
warmth  always  comes  from  within. 

846.  It  is  said  that  the  tiniest  quantity  of  musk 
will  fill  the  room  with  its  odor  for  many  months, 
and  so  the   impression  which  a  lovely  character 
leaves  on  the  mind  and  memory  lasts  for  a  life- 
time, but  "  the  memory  of  the  wicked  shall  rot." 

847.  It  is  not  one  of  the  least  beneficences  of 
our  Creator  that  the  cloudy  days  of  youth  are  lost 
in  its  gladsome  sunshine,  so  that  when  we  look 
back  upon  it,  the  whole  mind  is  filled  with  pleasant 
memories. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS. 

848.  When  writing  to  the  old  folks  at  home,  fill 
your  sheet  to  the  bottom  line  on  every  side.     Tell 
about  little  things,  just  as  you  would  if  you  were 
to  pay  them  a  visit ;  tell  all  the  news  which  has 
reference  to  yourself  or  your  family,  of  your  plans 
and  purposes,  and  the  pleasant  things  your  chil- 
dren say  about  them.     Do  not  spare  expressions 
of  gratitude  for  all    their  care  of  you  when  you 
were  growing  up.     Every  now  and  then  contrive 
to  send  them  some  little  token  of  remembrance, 
and  if  possible,  by  some  of  your  neighbors  rather 
than  by  post  or  express  ;  this  will  give  them  op- 
portunities of  hearing  of  you,  making  inquiries, 
and  of  learning  the  favorable  opinions  of  you  in 
the  community.     It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  a 
parent's  heart  to  know  you  are  well  thought  of, 
and  that  you  are  doing  well  and  growing  up  in 
influence.    Things  like  these  will  be  delicious  food 
to  feed  upon,  and  will  give  them  many  a  happy 
hour  in  thinking  .and  talking  about  them  to  one 
another,  when  life  outside  has  lost  its  glitter,  and 
hopes  have  faded,  and  the  friends  of  their  youth 
are  dead  or  gone  away. 

849.  A  physician  once  advised  a  poor  patient 
to  "  take  a  walk  on    an    empty  stomach  ; "  "  On 
whose  stomach  ? "  feebly  inquired  the  invalid.    No 
one  ought  to  exercise  while  very  hungry,  because 
hunger  and  debility  are  inseparably  connected,  and 
if  on  a  full  stomach  still  greater  injury  results  to 
man  and  beast ;  both  brute  and  bird  rest  or  doze 
after  a  full  meal. 

12 


178  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

850.  Said  my  father  one  day  to  his  overseer, 
an  honest,  hard-working  Dutchman,  "Well,  Un- 
cle Henry,  when  you  speak  to  a  man  on  the  road 
and  he  does  not  answer  back,  what  do  you  do  ? " 
"  Oh,  I  zhust  goes  along,  and  tinks  about  somepin 
else."     That  is  a  true   philosophy,  and   perhaps 
these  are  the  only  words  of  all  the  millions  those 
men  spoke  in  a  lifetime  of  three-score  years  and  ten 
which  were  ever  put  in  print.     How  little  did  they 
imagine  that  their  casual  remarks  would  provoke 
a  pleasant  smile  on  many  a  face  long  after  they 
were  dead  and  gone. 

851.  Visit  your  parents.     Never  allow  weather 
or  want  of  time  or  considerations  of  expense  or 
convenience  prevent  it,  short  and  often  if  in  the 
same  town,  or  if  at  a  distance,  make  it  a  point 
now  and  then  to  go  back  to  the  old  home,  and 
talk  about  old  times,  and  tell  them  how  you  are  do- 
ing.    They  are  old  now,  and  are  very  much  alone. 
There  are  no  young  people  about  the  house  to  at- 
tract others,  and  most  of  those  of  their  own  age 
have  passed  away ;  they  need  some  break  in  the 
loneliness  of  their  homes,  every  visit  of  a  child  is 
pure  happiness,  and  when   the   message   comes, 
"  They  are  dead,"  your  first  regret  will  be  that  you 
had  not  done  more  to  make  them  happy,  and  to 
smooth  their  pathway  to  their  last  resting  place. 

852.  To  observant  people,  the  dress  sets  off  the 
character  quite  as  much  as  the  body ;  it  should 
fit  the  character  as  well  as  the  person. 

853.  An  unintentional  deception  is  not  a  lie. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  179 

854.  Whatever  is  intended  to  deceive  is  a  false- 
hood —  a  lie. 

855.  It  does  not  require  a  word  to  make  a  lie,  it 
is  the  intention  which  constitutes  the  meanness  of 
the  crime.    "  What  are  you  doing  my  child  ? "     "  I 
am  trying,  grandma, -to  steal  papa's  hat  out  of  the 
room   without    the    gentleman   seeing   it ;    papa 
wants  him  to  think  he  is  out."     The  parent,  in 
this  case,  was  the  liar,  and  he  was  training  his  son 
in  his  footsteps. 

856.  That    dress    is    most    perfect   which    is 
adapted  to  the  season,  the  calling,  the  age  and 
condition  of  the  wearer. 

857.  A  judicious  application  of  cold  or  warm 
water  will  alleviate,  arrest,  or  cure  more  of  pain  or 
sickness  than  any  score  of  medicines  ever  known. 

858.  Cottle,  Coleridge,  and  Wordsworth  took  a 
drive ;   the  first  unharnessed  the  horse  from  the 
vehicle  after  great  difficulty,  but  neither  he  nor 
the  poet   could   get   the   collar  from   the    neck. 
The  everlasting  talker  was  called  ;  he  declared  it 
was   a   "  downright   impossibility,"    and   that  the 
horse's  head  must  have  grown  since  the  collar  was 
put  on.     "  La,  master ! "  said  the  maid,  "  turn  the 
collar  upside  down."     Newton's  mind  was  said  to 
have  been  disturbed  by  a  large  hole  having  been 
cut  in  the  door  to  let  the  cat  in,  and  not  a  small 
one  for  the  kitten  ;  so  little  do  great  minds,  some- 
times, interest  themselves  in  the  small  affairs  of 
life,  and  yet  it  is  the  little   things  which  most 
annoy  or  most  add  to  its  pleasures. 


180  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

859.  As  it  is  the  warmth  generated  from  within 
us   which   makes  us   comfortable,  so   it  is  from 
what  is  within  that  we  are  made  happy,  not  from 
that  without. 

860.  A  cool  head,  warm  feet,  and  daily  defeca- 
tion are  the  great  safeguards  against  sickness,  and 
there  is  no  health  without  them. 

86 1.  No  snow-flake  ever  reaches  the  surface  of 
the  earth  without  gathering  some  tarnish  from  the 
air   through   which   it   has  fallen  ;   so  the  purest 
characters  are  soiled  in   their  contact  with   the 
world. 

862.  Spring  fevers  and  other  spring  diseases  do 
not  result  from  impurities  accumulated  during  the 
winter,  but  from  too  hearty  eating,  from  the  use 
of  tonics,  from  too  early  changes  in  clothing,  and 
a  premature  putting  out  of  fires. 

863.  Any  one  is  liable  to  be  placed  under  cir- 
cumstances in  which  a  pin  or  a  string  may  be 
worth   dollars ;    or   the   knowledge   of    an   exact 
weight  or  measure  may  be  an  exceeding  gratifica- 
tion ;  thus,  four  copper  cents,  side  by  side,  meas- 
ure three  inches  ;  a  five  cent  silver  piece  is  the 
exact  size  of  a  three  dollar  gold  coin,  and  laid  side 
by  side  fifty  of  them  make  a  French  meter  or 
39  1-3  inches,  while  the  weight  of  three  coins  is 
just  half  an  ounce,  a  single  letter  rate ;  a  silver 
dime  weighs  21-2  grammes,  a  silver  half  dollar 
12  1-2,  the  two  15  grammes,  and  453  1-2  grammes 
make   one  pound  ;   fifteen   grains  are   about  one 
gramme,  or  half  an  ounce ;  a  knot  is  i  1-7  miles. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  1 8 1 

864.  One   of   the  cheapest  and  most   efficient 
chest   protectors,  when  unexpectedly  exposed  to 
cold,  raw  winds,  is  a  folded  newspaper  inside  the 
vest. 

865.  That  man  who  has  resources  within  him- 
self to  entertain,  amuse,  or  otherwise  agreeably 
occupy  his  mind,  is   happier   and  richer   than  a 
Croesus  who  is  miserable  without  company. 

866.  The  height  of  a  tree  or  house  is  ascer- 
tained by  sun  or  moonshine  thus  :  measure  your 
own  shadow,  then  the  shadow  of  the  object,  and, 
knowing  your  own  height  in  inches,  divide  the 
object  shadow  by  yours,  multiply  by  your  inches 
and  divide  by  twelve,  which  gives  the  feet. 

867.  "  What  is  '  false  witness/  my  daughter  ? " 
'*  It 's  when  nobody  did  anything  and  somebody 
went  and  told  it."  This  is  slander,  which  often 
wrenches  the  heart  with  agony  and  sometimes  kills. 

868.  A  far  greater  courage  is  it  to  silently  en- 
dure a  groundless  defamation,  than  to  march  up 
to  the  cannon's  mouth. 

869.  It  is  many  times  better  and  easier  to  live 
down  a  slander  than  to  contradict  or  demand  an 
investigation,  for  that  means  its  communication  to 
a  still  larger  number. 

870.  There  is  not  food    enough  in  London  at 
any  time  to  feed  its  four  millions  of  population  but 
a  few  days.     If  an  enemy  were  to  land  and  cut  its 
northern  and  western  railroad,  it  would  be  starved 
into  submission  in  less  than  a  fortnight.     Such 
are  the  dependences  of  all  human  things. 


1 82  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

871.  A  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  coming  unex- 
pectedly, is  sometimes  equal  to  a  medicine,  by  the 
stimulating   influences  of  a   hearty  laugh.     "  Go 
away  from  the  stove,  my  child,  the  weather  is  not 
cold."     "  I  'm  not  heating  the  weather,  father,  only 
my  hands." 

872.  Educate  your  children  from  the  age  of  four 
years,  or  even  earlier,  to  eat  plain,  nourishing  food, 
instead  of  pies,  pastries,  and  puddings ;  and  to  eat 
at  the  regular  meals  and  at  no  other  time,  instead 
of  nibbling  at  everything  their  eyes  fall  upon  ;  not 
that  the  articles  named  are  unhealthy  when  well 
made,  but  the  habit  of  eating  them  may  not  be 
easily  broken  up,  and  because  there  are  so  many 
circumstances    into   which   we   may   be    thrown 
wherein  it  may  be  impossible  to  procure  them, 
and  the  want  of  them  may   cause  considerable 
inconvenience  and   discomfort,  not   only  to  our- 
selves but  to  others. 

873.  Man  is  an  adaptable  animal,  intended  to 
live,  and  thrive,  and  flourish  in  all  latitudes  and  in 
all  climes,  and  to  be  surrounded  with  a  great  va- 
riety of  changing  circumstances,  and  he  can  live 
healthfully  and  long  under  the  equator  or  at  the 
poles,  if  he  will  only  conduct  himself  in  wise  ac- 
cordance with  his  surroundings. 

874.  Appetite  is  a  seeking  for,  a  taking  to  ;  and 
whatever  healthfully  nourishes  and  healthfully  sat- 
isfies the  thirst,  that  is  good  to  eat  and  good  to 
drink,  for  He  that  has  made  us  has  "  given  us  all 
things  richly  to  enjoy." 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  183 

875.  If  food  is  taken  into  the  stomach  in  pea- 
sized  pieces,  it  is  reasonably  well  digested  if  not 
chewed  at  all-,  much  more  so  if  leisurely  chewed. 

876.  Corpulency  is  a  disease  arising  from  the 
circumstance  that   certain  portions  of  nutriment 
received  into  the  system  have  not  been  appro- 
priated to  its  nourishment,  hence  are  stored  up 
as  if  for  future  use,  and  to  that  extent  impedes 
locomotion,  shortens  the  breath,  incapacitates  for 
exercise,  and  hastens  the  close  of  life  always. 

877.  The  liver,  weighing   about   four   pounds, 
and  situated  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  ribs  on  the 
right  side,  is  the  great  wheel  of  life's  machine  ;  it 
regulates  the  whole  mechanism  of  man  ;  when  it 
"  acts,"  that  is,  works  well,  then  every  other  wheel, 
gland,  and  factory  in  the  system  works  well,  and 
there  is  general  good  health  ;  if  it  does  not  work 
well,  which  means  its  becoming  torpid,  the  whole 
system  begins  to  get  out  of  order,  the  head  aches, 
there  is  a  bad  taste  in  the  mouth  of  mornings, 
food  does  not  taste  good,  there  is  a  poor  appetite, 
the  feet  are  cold,  the  bowels  constipated,  the  whole 
body  is  chilly,  and  the  least  thing  in  the  world 
gives  a  cold,  while  there  is  a  miserable  feeling  all 
over.     Some,  but  not  all  of  these  symptoms  are 
present  when  the  liver  is  torpid  ;  to  say  nothing 
of  the  mental  condition,  which  is  fretful,  peevish, 
complaining,  and  depressed.     The  remedy  for  this 
state  of  affairs  is  daily  riding  on  a  trotting  horse, 
or  steady  exercise  or  work  in  the  open  air  for  sev- 
eral hours  every  day,  to  the  extent   of  causing 
gentle  perspiration. 


1 84  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

878.  Biliousness   is   the  result  of  the  bile  not 
being  withdrawn  from  the  blood  by  the  healthful 
action  of  the  liver.     The  effect  is  that  the  skin  or 
eyes  get  a  yellow  tinge,  which  is  the  color  of  the 
bile,  or  there  is  loss  of  appetite,  low  spirits,  and 
other  discomforts.     This  bile  is  composed  mainly 
of  those  portions  of  the  body,  which,  having  sub- 
served their  purpose,  have  now  become  waste  ma- 
terial to  be  removed  from  the  system,  being  no 
further  needed.    This  bile  is  passed  out  of  the  liver 
into  the  alimentary  canal  just  below  the  stomach, 
giving  the  dejections  the  familiar  yellow  color,  and 
causing  that  daily  action  of  the  bowels,  without 
which  there  can  be  no  good  health  for  forty-eight 
hours.     In  this  is  seen  the  wonderful  wisdom  and 
economy  of  the  great  maker  of  our  frames.     This 
very  waste  matter,  called  bile,  in  its  way  out  of  the 
system,  is  made  to  promote  that  peculiar  motion 
of    the   intestines   which    prevents   constipation, 
which  may  be  generally  obviated  by  steady  exer- 
cise or  labor  in  the  open  air,'  or  by  the  free  use  of 
fruits   and    berries,    in    conjunction   with   coarse 
bread,  wheaten  gruels,  or  oatmeal  porridge. 

879.  Indiscriminate  daily  cold  water  bathing  is 
the  fanaticism  of  ignorance. 

880.  No  one,  sick  or  well,  young  or  old,  should 
be  waked  up  out  of  a  sound  sleep  —  it  is  an  out- 
rage against  nature  —  unless  the  house  is  on  fire. 

88 1.  The  most  famous  authors  have  never  been 
able  to  write  more  than  four  or  five  hours  every 
day. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  185 

882.  All   living   things   are   blessings   in  their 
places,    have    indispensable   uses,    and   what   the 
uses  are,  we  are  gradually  finding  out.     The  com- 
mon house  fly  is    considered   a  pest,  and  it  has 
been  noticed  that  they  are  most  numerous,  where 
there  is  most  sickness  and  most  filth  ;  then  it  fol- 
lows that  where  there  are  most  flies,  there  are  the 
most  elements  of  disease.     The  fly  is  constantly 
sliding  its   legs   over   its   wings   and   body,   and 
bringing  them  to  its  mouth,  gathering  its  food  in 
the  shape  of  innumerable  insects,  which  pounce 
upon  it  from  the  air  and  bite  it ;  thus  the  fly  is 
made  to  work,  to  earn  its  living.    These  minute  in- 
sects are  taken  into  the  lungs  at  each  breath,  and 
poison  the  blood.    The  fly,  then,  is  a  valuable  scav-  f 
enger,  making  the  air  more  fit  to  breathe  every 
instant.     The   fly   and  the  worm  feed    the  bird, 
which  eats  its  weight  of  worms  in  a  day,  and  the 
bird  feeds  man,  who  is  destined  to  immortality ; 
and  thus  it  is  that  all  created  things  have  their 
uses :   the  fly  fattens  on   the  microscopic   insect 
which  poisons  the  air ;  the  tiniest  birds  feed  upon 
the  fly  which  had  consumed  the  insect,  and  man 
feeds  upon  the  bird  ;  the  fly  purifies  the  air  we 
breathe  and  the  bird  feeds  upon  the  worms  which 
destroy  the  crops  which  are  to  give  us  bread. 

883.  Never  war  against  the  instincts  of  unre- 
sisting childhood,  —  it  is  a  barbarism. 

884.  To  eat  wisely,  we  must  adapt  our  food  to 
our  age,  to  the  various  occupations  and  callings 
of  life,  and  to  the  temperaments  of  'the  system. 


1 86  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

885.  Never  go  to  bed  at  night  until  everything 
is  put  to  rights,  and  the  clothing  on  a  chair  near 
the  bedside,  so  that  in  case  of  alarm  or  hurry  it 
may  be   found   mechanically  and   nothing   over- 
turned.    For  want  of  this  a  man  was  waked  up 
suddenly,  and  stooping  down  to  find  something, 
his   eye  was  scooped  out   by  coming  in  contact 
with  the  sharp  point  in  the  back  of  a  chair.     It  is 
said  that  Whitefield  could  not  compose  himself  to 
sleep  until  his  riding-whip  and  gloves  were  in  their 
accustomed  place. 

886.  What  cures  a  man  of  one  ailment  may 
kill  another  suffering  from  the  same  disease,  ow- 
ing to  the  difference  in  stage,  duration,  and  aggra- 
vation, and  the  strength  of  the  constitution ;  and 
yet  there  are  multitudes  who  unhesitatingly  and 
blindly  take  a  medicine  because  it  seemed  to  have 
cured  a  disease  in  another  person. 

887.  "  Uncle  Sam  is  rich  enough  to  give  us  all 
a  farm  ; "  and  if,  in  his  affection,  he  were  to  place  a 
beautiful  cottage  on  each,  and  fence  and  stock  it, 
there  would,  in  all  probability,  be  quite  as  great 
a  difference   in   the   condition  of   individuals   at 
the  end   of   fifty  years  as  now ;   and   perhaps  a 
greater,  for  it  is  the  men  who  have  been  compelled 
to  industries  who  have  brought  the  world  to  its 
present  high  civilization,  for  man  is  naturally  a 
lazy  animal,  and  only  works  from  compulsion. 

888.  Alcoholic  drinks  have  no  power  to  prevent 
any  disease,  but  they  have  the  power  to  cause 
many. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  l8/ 

889.  As  to  children,  persuade  rather  than  pun- 
ish ;    convince   rather  than  correct ;    bear  rather 
than  beat,  and  never  take  advantage  of  their  un- 
resisting helplessness,  "  For  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven." 

890.  The  constitution,  like  a  new  garment,  lasts 
the  longer  by  being  taken  good  care  of. 

891.  Seven   thousand   persons  died   last  year, 
in   Philadelphia,  from  'avoidable  diseases,  and  as 
each  death  involves  an  average  of  twenty-eight 
days'  sickness,  there  was  a  clear  loss  of  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  of  labor  of  one  man  unneces- 
sarily. 

892.  Counting  five  fingers  on  one  hand,  may  aid 
in  enumerating  as  many  practical  items  of  prime 
importance  in  reference  to  the  preservation  of  the 
health  :  i.  Eat  regularly.     2.  Keep  the  feet  warm. 
3.  Get  the  utmost  amount  of  sleep.    4.  Have  one 
daily  action  of  the  bowels.     5.  Spend  one  or  two 
hours  out  of  every  twenty-four  in  cheery  out-door 
activities. 

893.  Night   is  the  time  for  rest  of  body  and 
brain,  both  for  the  student  and  laborer ;  and  they 
who  sleep  most  and  best  will  have  "  the  most  to 
show  for  it  "  at  the  "  counting  up  "  of  life's  work. 

894.  In   connection   with   the   transactions   of 
men,  debt  has  engendered  more  bitterness,  rup- 
tured   more    friendships,    ruined    more    estates, 
blasted  more  reputations,  and  planted   thorns  in 
more   human   pillows   than   all   other    causes   of 
human  sorrow  combined. 


1 88  HO W  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

895.  Each  death  involves  an  average  of  twenty- 
eight  days  of  sickness  ;  that  is,  for  every  person 
dying  twenty-eight  persons  are  sick  one  day. 

896.  In  doing  things,  sometimes,  we  feel  con- 
scious of  running  a  risk  of   injury,  knowing  in 
fact    that   harm  has  been  suffered  heretofore  in 
that  very  way  ;  but  then  there  is  a  kind  of  hope- 
fulness comes  over  us  that  somehow  or  other  we 
shall  escape  this  time,  and  thus  we  recklessly  im- 
peril health,  comfort,  and  happiness  on  a  "  may  be 
it  wont  hurt  us  this  time,"  and  yet  it  oftener  does 
hurt.    We  do  suffer  and  sometimes  die  from  a  de- 
liberate imprudence,  acting  against  our  own  better 
judgment.     One  of  our  richest  bankers,  who  had 
expended  a  million  of  money  on  his  country  seat, 
started,  after  a  late  dinner,  to  walk  for  exercise 
from  his   Fifth  Avenue    mansion    to   the  opera ; 
very  unexpectedly  there  was  a  slight  shower,  so 
slight  that  he  thought  it  would  not  dampen  his 
clothing  hurtfully  ;  he  sat  out  the  music,  returned 
home,  had  a  chill,  and  died  of  inflammation  of  the 
lungs — pneumonia  —  in  four  days. 

897.  Our  first  care  in  life  should  be  to  lay  up 
money  to  meet  our  own  wants  without  a  perad- 
venture,  this  insures  a  manly  independence  ;  the 
next  should  be  the  higher  and  nobler  aim  to  work 
on  and  apply  a  portion  of   our  surplus   towards 
helping  others  to  help  themselves  and  for  the  care 
of  the  disabled,  the  sick,  and  the  unfortunate. 

898.  Yielding  to  self  indulgence  corrupts  both 
manners  and  morals. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  189 

898.  Stammering  is  much  like  the  tremor  of  a 
locomotive  at    rest,  while  the   fires    are   fiercely 
burning  ;  it  fairly  shivers  for  need  of  the  outlet  of 
the  steam.     The  stammerer  is  so  full  of  nervous 
energy  and  the  efforts  to  put  it  forth  at  the  end 
of  the  tongue,  that  this  energy  crowds  the  con- 
ducting capacity   of   the   nerves,  and   they   can- 
not work ;  all  that  has  to  be  done  to  rectify  the 
malady  completely   in   one   minute's    time   is  to 
make  an  outlet  to   the  nerve  steam  in  more  di- 
rections than  one.     No  man  stammers  in  singing, 
because  part  of  the  attention  is  directed  toward  the 
music  and  part  to  the  words  and  their  meaning, 
and  to  the  notes.     A  man  who  commits  a  speech 
to  memory  never  stutters  in  its  delivery,  because 
part  of  the  nervous  force  is  directed  to  remember- 
ing the  words.     A  man  who  counts  or  speaks  by 
beating  time,  or  will  tap  anything  with  his  finger 
at  each  syllable,  has  no  impediment  in  his  speech. 
So  all  that  the  worst  stammerer  has  to  do  is  to 
study  and  practice  deliberation  in  utterance. 

899.  The   brain   is   clearest   for   study  in    the 
morning ;  but  they  will  study  the  longest  and  best 
and  with  the  least  fatigue  who  take  a  very  light 
breakfast  before  commencing  their  brain  work. 

900.  Legitimate  money  making  by  any  congen- 
ial employment  which  is  encouragingly  remunera- 
tive is  a  most  efficient  medicine  :  it  enlivens  the 
spirits,  invigorates  the  circulation,  and  wakes  up 
the  whole  man  to  a  new  energy,  adding  a  lease  to 
life  of  at  least  ten  per  cent. 


HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

901.  The  tiny  bacteriae,  a  thousand  millions  of 
which  would  not  make  a  bulk  equal  to  a  grain  of 
sand,  produce  yeast  if  put  into  an  alcoholic  fer- 
ment, but  if  introduced  into  vinegar,  grow  into 
elongated  forms  and  develop  into  the  mushroom 
and  other  shapes,  each  form  causing  a  particular 
disease  :  the  spiral  associated  with  relapsing  fever  ; 
the  dumb-bell  with  putrefactive  maladies  and  ma- 
lignant pustules ;  the  united-headed  or  chain-shaped 
ever  present  in  carbuncle,  cholera,  diarrhoea,  and 
the  like.  So  the  human  character  and  constitution 
are  shaped  by  the  surroundings  of  young  life  ;  if 
these  are  a  pure  atmosphere  and  a  busy  life,  there 
will  follow  health,  vigor,  and  success  ;  but  if  the 
child  be  enveloped  in  filth,  with  the  belongings  of 
idle  and  vicious  associates,  he  grows  up  into  a 
deformity,  moral,  mental,  and  physical. 

872.  We  may  be  sure  .that  nothing  was  created 
in  vain.  Scarce  a  day  passes  that  human  research 
does  not  develop  uses  for  things  which  were  never 
before  dreamed  of.  Boracic  acid  thrown  over  grass 
destroys  it  promptly  and  permanently,  and  kills,  in- 
stantly, millions  of  microscopic  animalcules.  One 
part  of  a  ten  per  cent,  solution  of  it  will  keep  eight 
times  as  much  milk  sweet  for  a  week  ;  lint  steeped 
in  a  hot,,  saturated  solution  of  it  prevents  putre- 
factive discharges  in  sores,  wounds,  and  amputa- 
tions. Everywhere  around  us  do  we  find  that 
many  things  can  be  adapted  to  many  uses,  and  all 
for  man's  benefit,  by  the  beneficence  of  the  Om- 
nipotent One. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  IQI 

903.  Once  get  a  child  to  save  money  from  prin- 
ciple, for  legitimate  purposes,  and  he  is  safe  for  all 
time,  for  you   thereby  teach   him  the  lesson  of 
economy  and  self-denial,  which  are  at  the  founda- 
tion of  success  and  fortune. 

904.  It  would  do  the  living  world  more  good  to 
give  the  dead  an  honest  kick  for  their  misdeeds 
than  to  pass  them  over  in  silence.     On  the  other 
hand,  the  praising  of  the  living  while  they  are 
struggling  for  the  accomplishment  of  great  ends, 
would  many  a  time  be  an  inspiration  to  them,  and 
would  bear  them  onward  with  redoubled  speed  to 
triumphant  success. 

905.  To  give  a  child  or  any  one  else  more  for 
doing  a  thing  than  it  is  fairly  worth,  is  to  offer  a 
premium  for  habits  of  extortion,  extravagance,  and 
ultimate  beggary. 

906.  It  is  enough  to  give  a  man  forty  fits  to 
attend  an  examination  at  a  public  school,  there  is 
such   a  melancholy  sternness   in  the  manner  of 
proposing   the  simplest  questions.     "  Who  made 
the  world  in  seven  days  ? "  asked  a  teacher  with 
grim  death  marked  on  every  lineament,  and  a  poor 
little  girl  blubbered  out,  "  I  did,  sir ;  but  I  wont 
do  it  any  more." 

907.  One  of  the  most  pressing  wants  of  the 
American  people  is  family  amusement,  family  en- 
joyment, family  pastimes,  as  a  means  of  making 
home  more   inviting   than   the   opera,  the   club- 
house, and  the  street,  to  wife,  husband,  and  chil- 
dren. 


TO  LIVE  LONG. 

908.  The  quick  step  and  cheerful  tone  of  the 
physician  who  has  the  confidence  of  his  patient 
does  more  good  than  his  medicines,  in  many  cases. 

909.  The  unspeakable  sadness  of  the  consump- 
tive's face  often  kills  him  before  his  time. 

910.  Seldom  a  day  passes  that  we  do  not  hear 
of  some  man  who   has  committed   suicide  on  ac- 
count of  pecuniary  reverses,  and  by  so  doing  a 
wife  and  children  are  left,  in  all  their  helplessness, 
to   bear   burdens   which   the  head   of  the  family 
could  not  any  longer  live  under.     Whatever  may 
be  life's  calamities,  never  give  up  ;  have  the  moral 
courage  still  to  do  and  dare.      "  Rich  at  forty  or 
never,"  is  silly  in  its  absurdity.    The  martyred  Lin- 
coln failed  at  everything,  and  never  had  a  home 
of  his  own,  and  that  a  very  humble  wooden  struc- 
ture, until  he  was  past  forty  ;  the  greatest  soldier 
of  the  age  had  met  with  disaster  at  every  turn  in 
life,  and  at  forty  hauled  wood  to  town  at  forty  dol- 
lars a  month,  and  to-day  a  world  does  him  honor. 
One  night  a  man  was  hooted   down  in  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  for  the  impertinent  absurdity  of 
his  attempting  to  address  them,  and  to-day  he  is 
England's  prime  minister,  as  honored   as  he  is 
capable.     Let  the  struggling,  then,  hope  on,  for, 
as  Bulwer  has  said,  there  awaits  "  a  profound  and 
excellent  satisfaction  for  the  man  who  can  look 
back  on  past  struggles,  and  feel  that  he  has  not 
lived  in  vain,"  and  has  succeeded  at  last. 

911.  Cheerfulness  is  not  an  American  charac- 
teristic ;  — a  sad  thoughtfulness  in  the  expression 
of  the  countenance  is  almost  universal. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  193 

912.  There  are  some  persons  who  are  kind  and 
forbearing,  who  are  light  and  cheerful  and  good- 
natured  in  a  state  of  poverty  which  leans  on  the 
toil  of  to-day  for  to-night's  supper  and  the  morn- 
ing's   breakfast ;    they   would    exhibit    the   same 
qualities,  whether   living   in  a   palace   or   sitting 
upon  a  throne. 

913.  No   case   is   remembered   where   persons 
have  returned  to  life,  after  they  were  believed  to 
have  been  dead,  that  the  testimony  has  not  been 
given  to  the  effect  that  in  the  very  act  of  depar- 
ture the    last-remembered    sensations   were   not 
merely  pleasurable  but  exquisite.     A  titled  lady 
exclaimed,  "  Why  did  you  bring  me  back  to  earth." 
A  drowned  man  passed  away  with  strains  of  the 
most  delightful  music  striking  upon  his  ears.    The 
man  cut  down  from  the  gallows  had  a  vision  of 
entering  Paradise,  surrounded  with  all  its  glories. 
And  now  a  lady,  struck  dead  by  lightning,  as  was 
supposed,  says,  "  I  feel  quite  sure  that  death  from 
lightning  must  be  absolutely  painless,  for  I  had 
a  feeling  of  gently   dying  away  into  darkness." 
Surely  we  do  ourselves  a  great  wrong,  and   the 
Merciful  One  who  made  death,  also,  to  cherish 
the  idea  that  it  is  "dreadful," — for  a  correct  and 
substantiated    physiology  has  demonstrated   that 
in  the  hour  and  article  of  death  from  disease,  for 
several  minutes  and  sometimes  for  hours  before 
departure,  the  feeling  of  pain  is  an  absolute  impos- 
sibility ;  there  may  be  an  appearance  of  it,  but  it 
is  a  manifest,  unfelt  muscular  disturbance. 

13 


194  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

HEALTH'S  THREE  ESSENTIALS. 
914.  All  who  are  now  in  health  can  keep  well,! 
and  three  out  of  four  of  those  suffering  from  the 
common  transient  ailments  of  life  can  be  perfectly 
cured  by  giving  a  steady,  judicious  attention  to 
the  three  following  rules  :  Rule  first.  Never  eat 
between  meals,  nor  take  anything  for  supper  but  a 
single  piece  of  cold  bread  and  butter,  and  a  glass 
of  water,  or  one  cup  of  any  kind'  of  hot  drink. 
Rule  second.  Secure  one  regular,  free,  and  full 
daily  action  of  the  bowels  every  morning  after 
breakfast,  by  the  use  of  your  ordinary  food.  To 
this  end,  do  not  leave  your  home  until  there  is  an 
inclination  to  stool,  then,  as  you  value  a  long  and 
healthful  life,  do  not  defer  the  call  for  anything 
short  of  a  fire  or  a  fit ;  rather  cherish  the  inclina- 
tion. If  it  does  not  come  within  half  an  hour  of 
the  regular  time,  solicit  nature.  If  unsuccessful, 
do  not  eat  anything  until  next  morning  unless  a 
passage  is  secured.  Meanwhile,  drink  as  much 
cold  water,  or  hot  tea,  as  you  desire,  and  keep  ex- 
ercising (tenfold  better  if  in  the  open  air),  to  the 
extent  of  sustaining  a  scarcely  perceptible  per- 
spiration for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  for  if  food 
is  steadily  passed  into  the  mouth,  and  there  is  no 
corresponding  outgo,  harm  is  inevitable.  If,  dur- 
ing the  second  day,  the  bowels  do  not  move,  live  ex- 
clusively on  oatmeal  porridge  and  grapes  or  baked 
apples,  until  they  do  move.  Rule  third.  Cool  off 
very  slowly  after  all  forms  of  exercise ;  the  neg- 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  195 

lect  of  this  lights  up  the  fires  of  most  of  the  diseases 
which  afflict  humanity.  Cool  off  slowly  by  putting 
on  more  clothing  than  while  exercising,  instead  of 
laying  aside  some,  .even  a  hat  or  a  bonnet ;  go  to  a 
closed  room  rather  than  sit  or  stand  out  of  doors  ; 
sit  by  a  good  fire  rather  than  an  open  window ; 
or  keep  in  motion,  so  as  to  allow  the  perspiration 
or  any  extra  warmth  to  disappear  very  gradually 
indeed.  If  a  fourth  rule  were  added,  it  should  be 
to  keep  one  end  of  the  body  —  the  feet  —  always 
dry  and  warm,  and  the  other  —  the  head  —  cool 
and  clean,  by  spending  two  minutes  in  midwinter, 
more  in  midsummer,  in  washing,  with  ordinary 
cold  water,  the  Scalp,  if  the  hair  is  short,  the  ears, 
neck,  throat,  arm-pits,  upper  part  of  chest  and 
arms  ;  rub  dry  briskly,  dress  quickly,  and  go  to 
breakfast.  These  same  observances  will  incalcu- 
lably mitigate  every  disease  to  which  man  is  sub- 
ject ;  will  moderate  every  pain  and  will  soothe 
every  sigh  ;  and  a  pity  is  it  beyond  expression 
that  every  person  does  not  know  and  habitually 
practice  them. 

915.  The  Duke   of  Wellington  never  dressed 
of  a  morning,  without  putting  his  head  out  of  the 
window  to   determine   the   temperature   and  the 
wind,  and  dressed  accordingly. 

916.  Twenty-five   men   out   of   every   hundred 
thousand  in  the  United  States  commit  suicide ; 
but  only  three  women,  —  showing  that  the  latter 
bear  trouble  more  heroically  than  does  the  sterner 
sex. 


196  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

917.  Labor,  sufficiently  remunerative  to  afford 
some  daily  leisure  for  reading  and  study,  and  for 
acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  our 
being,  with  temperance  and   thrift,  is    the  great 
means  of  adding  to  human  health  and  life  ;  but 
the  more  important  ingredient,  happiness,  is  only 
to  be  found  in  obeying,  loving,  and  serving  Him 
"  who  giveth  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy." 

918.  There  is  no  sorrow  so  crushing,  so  ove,r- 
whelming,  so  utterly  irremediable  as  that  for  the 
dear  dead  wife,-1-  the  wife  of  your  first  love,  of  your 
buoyant,  hopeful  youth,  with  all  its  new  experi- 
ences, its  sweet  revelations,  its  early  struggles,  its 
mutual  aims,  its  hopes,  its  labors,  and  its  fruitions. 
For  long  years  together  you  worked  side  by  side, 
hand   in    hand.     She   shared   your   troubles    and 
kissed  away  half  their  severity.    She  doubled  your 
gladness  by  the  pleasure  it  gave  her  to  see  you 
happy.     And  when  in  the  lapse  of  time  you  had 
arrived  at  a  position  which  enabled  you  to  take 
life  easy,  and  enjoy  it  as  you  had  never  done  be- 
fore, a  heavenly  hand  takes  her  from  your  side 
and  transports  her  into  the  paradise  of  God,  where 
you  may  not  follow  her  now.     You  want  to  tell 
her  how  sweetly  she  died.     How  her  friends  gath- 
ered around  her  funeral  bier,  and  in  their  affection 
strewed  white  flowers  upon  her  bosom  ;  how  lov- 
ingly and  long  they  gazed  on  the  dear  familiar  face, 
so  beautifully  calm  in  death,  a  heavenly  sweetness 
so  pervading  every  lineament  as  to  give  to  it  an 
angel  seeming.     You  want  to  tell  her,  too,  how 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  1 97 

the  last,  long,  fond  kiss  almost  broke  your  heart, 
and  how  you  wanted  to  die  when  they  covered 
her  face  from  your  sight  forever.  And  then  as 
the  weary  weeks  pass  on  how  busy  memory  brings 
up  the  forgotten  past  with  its  long  array  of  loving 
acts,  of  spontaneous  tenderness,  of  self-abnega- 
tions, of  sleepless  vigilance,  of  instinctive  solici- 
tude ;  how  you  would  give  your  life  away  for  one 
short  interview.  But  it  cannot  be.  She  is  an 
angel  now,  and  in  her  heavenly  purity  waits  in 
patient  affection  for  the  time  when  it  shall  be  the 
Master's  will  to  bring  you  to  his  feet,  and  make 
of  you  an  angel  too. 

919.  Beautifully  has  it  been  said  of  "The  Dead 
Wife : "  "  In  comparison  with  that  loss,  all  other 
bereavements  are  trifles.  The  wife  !  She  who  fills 
so  large  a  space  in  the  domestic  heaven,  she  who 
is  so  busy,  so  unweary  ;  bitter,  bitter  is  the  tear 
which  falls  on  her  clay.  You  stand  beside  her 
grave  and  think  of  the  past,  an  amber  colored 
pathway,  where  the  sun  shone  upon  beautiful 
flowers,  or  the  stars  hung  glittering  in  the  sky. 
No  thorns  are  remembered  above  that  sweet  clay 
save  those  which  your  own  hand  may  have  unwit- 
tingly planted.  Her  noble,  tender  heart  lies  open 
to  your  inmost  sight.  You  think  of  her  as  all 
gentleness,  goodness,  and  purity.  But  she  is  dead. 
The  dear  head  which  so  often  laid  upon  your 
bosom  now  rests  on  a  pillow  of  clay.  The  soft 
hands  which  ministered  so  entirely  to  your  every 
want,  are  folded  white  and  cold  beneath  the 


198  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

gloomy  portals.  The  heart,  whose  every  beat 
measured  an  eternity  of  love,  lies  still  under  your 
very  feet.  There  is  no  white  arm  over  your  shoul- 
der now.  No  speaking  face  to  look  up  into  the 
eye  of  love.  No  smile  to  greet  you  at  the  night- 
fall ;  and  the  clock  ticks  and  strikes  and  ticks 
again  ;  it  was  sweet  music  when  she  could  hear 
it,  and  you  sat  at  her  side  ;  but  many  a  tale  it 
tells  now  of  joys  departed,  and  beautiful  words 
and  deeds  now  registered  above.  You  feel  as- 
sured that  she  is  in  a  happier  world,  and  like  to 
imagine  that  with  an  angel  presence  she  is  often 
at  your  side.  Cherish  these  emotions.  Let  her 
holy  presence  be  as  a  charm  to  keep  you  from  evil. 
Never  forget  what  she  has  been  to  you,  and  be 
tender  of  her  memory." 

920.  The  great  aim  of  the  mass  of  mankind  is 
to  get  money  enough  ahead  to  make  them  "  com- 
fortable."   But  money  can  never  purchase  comfort, 
only  the  means  of  it. 

921.  The  one  talent  for  an  habitual  disposition 
to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  things  is  worth  ten 
thousand  dollars.    That  old  darkey  was  not  less  a 
philosopher  than  Socrates  who  exclaimed,  with  his 
whole  countenance  lighted  up  with  a  broad  grin, 
"  I  '11  live  in  hopes  if  I  die  in  despair ! " 

922.  No  one  ought  to  feel  certain  of  having 
been   cured   of  anything   until    some    time   has 
elapsed  to  enable  him  to  ascertain  whether  the  ail- 
ment has  only  been  transferred  to  some  more  dan- 
gerous part. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS. 


199 


923.  A  man  may  be  "  comfortable "  without  a 
dollar,  only  if  he  has  the  right  disposition,  that  is, 
a  head  and  heart  in  the  right  place. 

924.  As  the  poet  says  :  — 


I 

I 

I 

I 

If 

I'd 

Once 
Had 

Money 
And 

Lent 
My 
Money 
To 

Asked 
My 
Money 
Of 

Lost 

My 
Money 
And 

I 

Had 
Money 
And 

Keep 

My 
Money 
And 

A 

Friend 

My 
Friend 

My 
Friend 

My 
Friend 

A 
Friend 

My 
Friend 

On 

And 

And 

For 

As 

And 

Both 
I 

Took 
His 

Nought 
But 

Sue 
Him 

Once 
I 

Play 
The 

Set 

Word 

Words 

I 

Had 

Fool 

Great 

There 

I 

Would 

Be 

No 

Store 

For 

Got 

Not 

Fore 

More. 

925.  A  very   safe  sentiment  is  announced  in 
the  Old  Testament,  "  He  that  hateth  suretyship 
is  sure ;"  and  quite  as  judicious  is  the  injunction 
in  the  New,  "  Owe  no  man  anything." 

926.  Neuralgia  is  literally  a  nerve  ache,  but  as 
we  feel  through  the  nerves,  every  pain  is  a  neural- 
gia, and  as  there  is  a  blood  vessel  beside  every 
nerve,  if  it  is   over-distended  with  blood,  pain  is 
an  inevitable   result,  because  the  over-distension 
presses  against  the  nerve,  which  does  not  admit 
the  very  slightest  touch  without  complaining,  as 
witness  that  of  a  nerve  of  the  tooth  ;  hence  all 
pains  can  be  relieved  either  by  diminishing  the 
amount  of  blood  in  the  body  by  bleeding,  or  by 
drawing  it  from  the  complaining  part  to  some 
other  point,  as  by  a  mustard-plaster. 


20O  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

927.  Give  as   much  as   you   please,  promptly, 
generously,  and  with  a  cheerful  willingness.    Do  as 
much  as  you  have  a  mind  to  in  the  way  of  per- 
sonal service  in  aiding  others,  but  never  obligate 
yourself  to  pay  money  at  a  future  time  by  word 
or  bond  or  the  faintest  implication.    What  worries 
would  not  this  simple  rule  prevent ;  what  remorses, 
what  humiliations,  what  heart-tortures,  what  false- 
hoods, what  meannesses,  what  awful  crimes,  even 
unto  perjury  and  blood. 

928.  Queen  Elizabeth,  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  and 
Ben  Jonson  were  cotemporaries  when  human  life 
averaged  about  twenty  years  ;  now  it  is  more  than 
double,  in  consequence  of    the  investigations  of 
medical  men  into  the  laws  of  health  and  of  life, 
and  the  dissemination  of  the  knowledge  of  them 
among  the  people. 

929.  When  in  good  health  it  is  better  to  eat  ac- 
cording to  the  tastes  and  instincts,  than  by  rule, 
weight,  or  measure.    At  the  same  time  it  is  better 
to  keep  in  mind  some  general  principles,  and  pre- 
fer  coarse   breads    and    fruits   and    berries   and 
melons,   and  other  cooling  and   opening  food  in 
summer,  and   those   of    a  warming  character  in 
cold  weather,  such  as  meats,  fats,  sugars,  oils,  and 
buckwheat  cakes. 

930.  There  is  only  one  safe  way  to   attempt 
saving  a  drowning  person,  thus :   approach  him 
from  behind,  clasp  him  so  as  to  pinion  his  arms 
to  his  side,  or  hold  him  at  arm's  length  by  the 
hair  of  his  head. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2OI 

931.  The  dull  ache  arises  from  too  much  blood 
being  in  the  veins,  the  sharp  pain  from  too  much 
in  the  arteries. 

932.  In  all  departments  of  business  except  the 
medical,  a  valuable   secret   is   locked   up  in  the 
breast  of  the  discoverer,  or  its  monopoly  is  se- 
cured by  a  patent  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual. 
If  the  uses  of  ether  or  nitrous  oxyde  or  chloro- 
form in  surgery,  had  been  concealed  by  the  phy- 
sicians who  discovered   them,  they  would   have 
been  the  richest  men  on  the  globe.    They  told  all 
they  knew  and  died  poor. 

933.  Many  laud  a  remedy  to  the  skies,  it  being 
the  last  thing  they  took  previous  to  convalescence, 
forgetting  they  might  have  got  well  without  it.    It 
was  in  this  way  that  so  great  a  man  as  Bishop 
Berkeley  became  an  enthusiast  about  the  virtues 
of  tar  water.     In  the  end  he  wrote  a  pamphlet 
recommending  it  as  a  valuable  remedy  in  almost 
every  form  of  disease.     But  it  somehow  or  other 
happened,  that   when    the   Bishop   was   attacked 
with  his  final  illness,  there  was  not  a  spoonful  of 
tar  in  "  all  the  region  round  about,"  and  he  died. 
To-day  the  most  ordinary  apothecary  would  not 
give  a  dime  for  an  ocean  of  tar  water  as  a  remedy. 

934.  We  have  kept  one  servant   seven  years, 
another  twenty,  in  the  same  house.     Treat  them 
politely,  pay  them  promptly,  keep  them  at  a  dis- 
tance, allow  no   slackness,  respect  their  feelings, 
and  religion,  and  show  them  that  you  have  an  in- 
terest in  their  welfare. 


2O2  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

935.  It  is  more  tiresome  to  stand  than  to  be  in 
motion,  because  all  the  muscles  are  on  a  strain  ; 
but  when  walking,  some  are  at  rest  while  others 
are  in  requisition.     The  dying  always  assume  a 
position  on  the  back,  because  almost  every  muscle 
in  the  body  is  relaxed  ;  hence  there  is  no  expendi- 
ture of  strength  ;  so,  when  very  tired,  that  is  the 
best  position  to  assume. 

936.  The  most  frequent  cause  of  insanity  is  ill- 
health,  induced  by  over-eating,  insufficient  exer- 
cise, intemperance,  yielding  to  trouble  and  care, 
and  mental  anxiety.    The  almost  certain  remedies 
against  these  being  a  more  general  cultivation  of 
out-door  activities,   a  greater  attention  to  some 
form   of  stirring   business,  giving  preference   to 
those  occupations  which  are  congenial,  absorbing, 
and  encouragingly  remunerative. 

937.  No  wonder  the  minister  died,  as  James  T. 
Fields  relates ;  said  he  to  a  farmer  in  a  gloomy 
little  town,  why  don't  you  do  something  to  amuse 
yourselves  of  winter  nights,  —  a  course  of  lectures, 
for  example  ?     "  Well  now,  mister,  we  tried  that 
some  years  ago  ;  we  got  up  a  course  to  buy  a  new 
hearse  ;   our  minister  was  engaged   to  deliver  a 
course  of  six  lectures  on  mummies,  but  before  he 
got  through  he  died,  and  we  have  never  tried  any- 
thing in  that  way  since." 

938.  Never  put  pen  to  paper  in  a  passion. 

939.  Writing  on  a  bare  marble-top  has  often 
originated  a  severe  cold  or  other  disturbance  of 
the  system. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  203 

940.  The  more  you  poke  a  coal-fire  the  more  it 
wont  burn    especially  in  a  railway  train,  to  the 
great  discomfort  of  many  a  weary  traveller. 

941.  Never  apply  a  depreciating  epithet  to  a 
child  or  servant ;  it  never  does  any  good,  but  al- 
ways an  unmitigated  harm. 

942.  A  patient  method  and  a  steady  purpose 
with  even  a  moderate  intellect  or  skill  will  com- 
mand ultimate  success  in  almost  any  department 
of  legitimate  business. 

943.  If  the  wish  and  the  capability  were  united 
in  the  same  person,  they  would  be  directed  by 
most  great  men  to  securing  an  enduring  name  in 
the  cultivation  of  letters.     Homer  is  more  immor- 
tal  than   Napoleon,   Milton    than    Frederic    the 
Great. 

944.  Death  is  not  dying,  it  is  merely  introdu- 
cing us  into  a  new  mode  of  existence.     Nor  does 
life  ever  end,  for  it  is  immortal ;  the  grave  is  but 
our  chrysalis,  out  of  which  state  we  are  to  come 
into  an  incorruptible  and  an  eternal  existence. 

945.  The  very  best  promoter  of  health-giving 
cheerfulness  is  active  remunerative  employment 
in  the  sunshine. 

946.  A  father  came  home  one  day  from  Wall 
Street  a  ruined  man ;  the  whole  family  were  in 
tears,   everything   would    be    taken    from    them. 
"Why,  mother,   they  can't  take   away  the   nice 
times  we've  had,"  said  a  boy  of  ten. 

947.  It  is  a  rare  thing  for  the  brain  to  be  over- 
worked. 


2O4  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

948.  A  public    speaker   or   performer    should, 
after   the   service   and   before  riding  or  walking 
against  a  cold,  raw  wind, 'take  a  good  warm  din- 
ner ;  this  allows  cooling  off  leisurely,  strengthens 
the  body,  and  invigorates  the  circulation  ;  many 
neglecting  this  have  died  of  inflammation  of  the 
lungs  within  a  week. 

949.  It  is  a  little  thing,  yet  three  out  of  four 
habitually  practice  it  from  childhood  to  old  age, 
when  making   a  mistake   or   blot   in  writing   to 
smear  it  out  with  the  finger,  making  an  unsightly 
blur  on  the  page.     Better  let  it  dry,  and  convert 
every  letter  into  a  cypher,  then  reading  it  is  im- 
possible. 

950.  Few  die  from  hard  study. 

951.  The  good  old  John  Wesley  thought  that  a 
man  could  not  have  too  many  irons  in  the  fire, 
poker,  shovel,  and  all,  there  being  much  work  to 
do  and  but  a  little  time  to  do  it  in. 

952.  There  can  be  no  good  health  with  habitu- 
ally cold  feet. 

953.  The  marring  of  the  beauty  of  the  human 
face  from  small-pox  is  prevented  by  confinement 
to  a  very  dark  room,  or  by  keeping  out  the  light. 
This  may  be  effectually  done  by  painting  the  ves- 
icle with  a  camel's-hair  brush  dipped   in  honey 
four  or  five  times  a  day,  the  last  just  before  retir- 
ing at  night ;  this  not  only  excludes  the  action  of 
the  light,  but  also  that  of  the  air,  and  keeps  the 
parts  moist,  antagonizing  fever,  while  allowing  the 
escape  of  foul  emanations. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2O$ 

954.  From  four  to  twenty,  every  tooth  should 
be  critically  examined  twice  a  year,  and  thereafter 
once  annually,  by  a  competent  and  conscientious 
dentist  ;  this  will  insure  their  lasting  a  dozen  or 
more  years  longer  than  they  otherwise  would  have 
done,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advantages  of  personal 
comeliness,  the  promotion  of  health,  and  the  pre- 
vention of  dyspepsia  by  a  more  perfect  mastication 
of  the  food,  for  which  good  teeth  are  essential. 

955.  Very  few  persons  can  work  or  think  to 
advantage   longer  than  four   or  five  hours  after 
eating  a  regular  meal,  because  too  much  of  the 
strength  has  been  expended. 

956.  Natural  death  is  one  of  the  strongest  proofs 
of  divine  beneficence,  — 

"  Death  is  the  gate  of  endless  joy, 
Why  should  we  dread  to  enter  there  ?  " 

Suppose  it  always  came  without  a  sickness,  with- 
out a  warning,  like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  the  clear 
sky,  in  the  street,  the  church,  the  counting-room, 
the  exchange,  the  lecture,  the  opera,  the  wedding, 
or  the  ball,  repeated  in  large  towns  and  cities  in 
almost  every  hour  of  every  day,  why !  comparing 
a  single  sudden  death  with  this  frequency,  there 
would  be  such  a  consternation  in  society,  such  an 
uncertainty  in  business  transactions,  such  an  in- 
cessant repetition  of  dreadful  shocks  to  our  sensi- 
bilities, that  every  human  arm  would  be  paralyzed, 
business  would  be  abandoned,  despair  would  sit 
dominant  on  every  brow,  and  every  heart  be 
broken. 


2O6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

957.  To  be  always  well  is  an  attainable  bless- 
ing,—  the  uniform   result   of  self-denial,  temper- 
ance, and  an  industrious  life. 

958.  Warmth  is  the  heaven  of  three-score  years 
and  ten :  it  gives  life  to  the  blood,  activity  to  the 
circulation,  and  vigor  to  the  whole  frame. 

959.  As  a  general  rule,  it  is  better  to  eat  a 
small  amount  at  intervals  of  four  or  five  hours, 
than  to  allow  six  or  eight  or  more  hours'  interval, 
and  eat  a  great  deal. 

960.  Not  counting  the  steps  of  the  feet,  the 
work  of  the  hands,  and  the  motions  of  the  body, 
but  only  the  motions  of  the  little,  busy,  busy  beat- 
ing heart,  which  thumps  three  thousand  million 
times  without   a   stop   during   our  pilgrimage  of 
three-score  years  and  ten,  it  propels  to  the  utmost 
extremity  of  toe  and  finger  half  a  million  tons  of 
blood,  each  stroke  representing  a  force  of  thirteen 
pounds  ;  and   as  the  food  we  eat,  the  water  we 
drink,  and  the  air  we  breathe  supply  this  power, 
they  should  be  the  purest  and  the  freshest  and  the 
best  that  can  be  found. 

961.  No  anodyne  known  to  the  apothecary  ever 
gives  natural,  restful,  refreshing  sleep. 

962.  If  a  man  wants  to  sleep  more  than  he  does 
at  night,  he  has  only  to  spend  more  hours  in  steady 
out-door  labor  during  the  day. 

963.  The  first  duty  of  the  competent  teacher  is 
to  study  the  character,  the  capacity,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  pupil  and  then  begin  his  liter- 
ary instruction. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2O/ 

964.  A  lady  whose  teeth  were  white  and  strong 
and  solid  and  perfect  at  three-score,  said  that  the 
only  tooth-powder  she  used  in  girlhood  was  brick 
dust  at  long  intervals.  A  distinguished  dentist 
lately  wrote  that  he  is  frequently  astonished  to 
hear  persons  who  have  sound  teeth  and  firm  gums 
state  with  some  shamefacedness  that  they  had 
never  used  a  tooth-brush,  but  had  simply  rinsed 
their  teeth  well  with  water  after  each  meal.  No 
animal  or  vegetable  substance  can  commence  fer- 
mentive  decay  in  the  short  interval  between  the 
three  daily  meals  ;  and  then  the  eating  of  each  suc- 
cessive meal  dislodges  what  may  have  been  left  at 
the  last  preceding  ;  but  if  any  is  left  after  supper 
it  will  commence  becoming  acid  before  breakfast 
next  morning ;  hence,  the  teeth  should  be  most 
carefully  cleaned  immediately  after  the  last  meal 
of  the  day,  which  can  be  best  done  by  dipping  a 
moderately  stiff  brush  in  warm  water,  applying  it 
well  to  the  tops  and  sides,  front  and  rear,  twisting 
the  brush  up  and  down,  so  that  each  bristle  shall 
become  a  tooth-pick  applied  to  the  joinings  to 
make  any  lodgment  impossible ;  two  mornings  in 
the  week  apply  the  brush  after  it  has  been  rubbed 
over  white  soap,  this  will  antagonize  any  acid 
which  might  have  been  present ;  these  uses  of  the 
brush,  with  the  rinsings  after  each  meal,  with  a 
whitening  with  some  safe  powder,  as  pulverized 
charcoal,  once  a  month,  is  sufficient  in  ordinary 
cases ;  but  a  good  dentist  should  examine  each 
tooth  twice  a  year  until  twenty-five,  and  annually 
thereafter. 


208  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

965.  "Music  hath  charms  to  soothe  the  savage 
breast,"  as  well  to-day  as  in  the  time  of  David, 
who  handled  the  harp  so  skillfully  that  he  drove 
the  demon  of  a  diseased  imagination  from  King 
Saul. 

966.  Nothing  more  distinctively  marks  the  lady 
or  the  gentleman  than  deference  to  the  infirm  and 
to  gray  hairs,  whatever  may  be  the  garb. 

967.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  a  boy  promptly 
resign  his  seat  to  an  aged  person  ;  nothing  sweeter 
than  for  a  little  girl  to  be  swift  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  to  the  old  and  to  the  helpless. 

968.  Politeness  in  a  child  abroad  proves  that 
there  is  a  lady-like  mother  at  home. 

969.  No  child  under  twelve  should  be  permitted 
to  study  outside  the  school-room,  even  one  half 
hour  out  of  the  twenty-four. 

970.  Public  hygiene  is  a  science  of  wide-reach- 
ing application  :  it  cares  alike  for  the  soldier  and 
the  sailor ;  for  the  pauper  and  the  prisoner ;  and 
extends  to  the  church  and  the  school-house ;  to 
the  hospital  and  the  penitentiary  ;  to  the  barrack 
and  the  ship-yard  ;  to  the  rail-car  and  the  steam- 
ship ;  to  the  city  street  and  the  public  highway  ;  — 
and  all  of  these  should   be  under   public  super- 
vision. 

971.  It  is  a  beautiful  dispensation  of  a  benefi- 
cent   Providence  that   we    would    not   willingly 
change  places  with  any  hilman  being  in  every 
respect ;  the  mmd  will  insist  on  taking  some  of 
our  belongings  with  us. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2OQ 

972.  It  should  be  always  borne  in  mind  that  a 
very  large  proportion  of  all  our  little  aches  and 
pains  will  pass  off  about  as  soon  by  letting  them 
alone  as  by  taking  something  ;  and  the  more  we 
"  take  "  the,  greater  the  necessity  for  taking  ;  be- 
sides, we  all  know  that  those  who  are  always  tak- 
ing medicine  are  always  sick. 

973.  He  is  the  man  who  makes  things  turn  up, 
instead  of  waiting  for  them  to  turn  up. 

974.  Almost  every  condition  of  life  has  its  com- 
pensations, which  help  a  man  to  feel  reconciled  to 
his  surroundings. 

975.  Our  sorrows  are  forgotten  sooner  than  our 
joys  ;  hence,  the  sunshine  of  childhood  is  an  im- 
perishable memory. 

976.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  get  up  two  or  three 
hours   earlier   than   usual,  to  do  a  "good   day's 
work,"  as  it  is  called,  because  sleep,  which  is  the 
foundation  of  strength  to  work,  being  cut  short 
.that  much,  there  is  no  more  strength  to  be  used 
during  the  day,  and  not  as  much  as  if   the  full 
amount  of  sleep  had  been  gotten  ;  hence,  the  per- 
son cannot  work  as  fast,  as  hard,  nor  as  long  with- 
out an  extra  amount  of  bodily  debility,  which  must 
be  made  up  for  by  sleeping  longer  the  next  night ; 
besides,   the  great  loss  of   comfort  in  working  a 
whole  day  in  weakness  ;  and,  in  addition,  the  mind, 
on  going  to  bed,  is  so  much  impressed  with  the 
necessity  of  getting  up  early  that  it  interferes  with 
the  soundness  and  the  refreshingness  of  the  sleep 
that  is  had. 


2IO  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

977.  Because  all  brute  and  vegetable  natures 
die,  and,  as   far  as  we  know,  that  is  the  end  of 
them,  it  is  not  analogical  to  infer  that  man,  him- 
self a  creature,  too,  shall  die  and  leave  no  sign 
for  evermore  that  he  ever  existed,  because  he  has 
a  spiritual  nature,  like  his  Maker,  and   like  his 
Maker  can  never  die. 

978.  God  lives  and  passes  on  along  the  ages  of 
eternity;  and  man,  who  alone  (and  not  the  beasts 
of  the  field  and  the  grass  of  the  earth)  was  made 
in  his  image,  has  an  existence  parallel  with  that  of 
his  Maker. 

979.  He  who  wants  to  do  a  better  day's  work 
than  usual  should  go  to  bed  earlier,  sleep  later, 
and'  eat  more  breakfast,  for  from  food  and  sleep  all 
our  strength  comes. 

980.  Said  the  author  of  "Ten  Years  in  Eastern 
Lands,"  to  his  Chinese  servant,  "  Did  you  ever  see 
the  sun  rise  ?  "  "  No,  sir,  nor  have  I  ever  known  a 
man  who  did."    The  nations  of  the  old  world  from 
centuries   of  observation  have  learned   that  it  is 
better  not  to  rise  very  early  and  to  eat  something 
before  they  go  out  to  work. 

981.  A  great  deal  of  time  and  labor  and  strength 
is  wasted,  especially  by  housekeepers,  in  changing 
from  one  work  to  another  ;  it  is  better  to  arrange 
that  each  kind  of  work  may  be  continued  until 
completed,  as  far  as  practicable. 

982.  Fast  workers  very  often  either  have  to  do 
a  part  of  their  work  over  again  from  some  mis- 
take or  from  its  being  badly  done. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2 1 1 

983.  In    1875,  a   son   of  a  corn   merchant   at 
Bruges  died,  in  his  eleventh  year.     He  had  been 
sickly  all  his  life,  so  much  so  that  he  was  never 
sent  to  school,  but  used  to  roam  about  the  woods 
and  river  banks  fishing.     Since  his  death,  about  a 
hundred  paintings  of  his  have  been  discovered, 
equaling  and  even  surpassing  some  of  the  most 
celebrated    masters.      Large   sums  were   offered 
for  their  purchase.     If   true,  the  stamina  of  his 
system  was  expended  on  one  particular  part  of 
his  brain  development,  leaving  the  other  portions 
imperfectly   supplied   with    nervous    energy,   the 
stomach  among  the  others  ;  hence  the  system  was 
imperfectly  nourished,  and  fell  an   easy  prey  to 
disease.     Whenever  an  excess  of  devotion  to  a 
particular  subject,  object,  or  study  is  noticed  in  a 
child,  it  is  his  death-knell  unless  the  mind  is  com- 
pelled away  to  other  pursuits. 

984.  Seventy-two  bushels  of  apples  were  gath- 
ered from  a  single  tree  in  Spencer  township,  In- 
diana ;  and  yet  the  apple  is  a  neglected  fruit  on 
perhaps  half  the  farms  in  the  country,  while  on 
every  one  of  them  there  are  spots,  more  or  less 
numerous,  where  a  tree  might  be  planted,  and  the 
room  not  missed.     The  apple  can  be  kept  easier 
and  longer,  and  at  less  trouble  and  expense,  than 
any  other  fruit  known  ;  can  be  applied  to  a  greater 
number  of  uses  ;  it  is  more  easily  and  speedily 
digested,  cools  the  system,  nourishes  it,  acts  on 
the  liver,  and  keeps  the  bodily  functions  in  proper 
order  ;  hence  there  should  be  a  thousand  trees  for 
every  one  that  is  now  growing. 


212  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

985.  Have  your  plan  of  work  marked  out  for  the 
day  or  week  in  advance,  and  always  keep  ahead  of 
it ;  this  will  save  half  the  hurry,  worry,  and  spoiled 
work  of  life. 

986.  Eggs    contain    a   considerable   amount   of 
phosphorus,  hence  are  good  brain-feeders  ;  they 
have  more  solid  nutriment  than  beef,  and  we  are 
certain  as  to  the  point  of  cleanliness  when  placed 
on  the  table  in  the  shell ;  they  are  most  healthy 
when  poached  or  boiled  four  minutes. 

987.  When  a  man  sets  about  building  a  dwell- 
ing for  himself,  to  be  his  home  for  life,  he  should 
aim  to  have  it  high,  dry,  and  well  ventilated :  high, 
so  as  to  carry  off  the  water  rapidly  in  every  direc- 
tion ;   dry,   so   that  the  walls  should  not  harbor 
dampness  ;    and  well  ventilated,   by  having  win- 
dows on  two  sides  of  each  room,  if  possible. 

988.  A  house  can  be  made  so  as  to  be  cool  in 
summer  and  warm  in  winter  at  a  small  extra  ex- 
pense.    Let  a  space  of  three  or  more  inches  be- 
tween the  inner  wall  and   plaster   be  filled  with 
sawdust  or  tan  ;  next  best  is  to  use  hollow  brick ; 
sawdust,  tan,  and  air  conduct  the  warmth  of  the 
room  away  very  slowly  in  winter,  and  after  absorb- 
ing a  certain  amount  of  sun-heat  in  summer,  will 
take  up  no  more. 

989.  There  are  some,  in  all  communities,  who 
seem  to  have  nothing  to  do  and  plenty  of  time  to 
do  it  in,  the  loafing  folk,  but  their  lives  are  useless 
and  always  short ;  —  the  busiest  people  live  the 
longest. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2 1 3 

990.  It  is  not  upon  the  parents  that  all  the  re- 
sponsibility rests  of  the  proper  training  of  chil- 
dren :  the  teacher,  the  physician,  the  clergyman, 
have  a  large  share  of  duties  to  perform  in  this 
direction ;  they  receive  the  parent's  money,  and 
for  it  are  in   duty  bound  to   give  the  best   and 
most  they  have  in  their  respective  spheres. 

991.  Hundreds  of  lives  could  be  saved  every 
year  if  the  mattrasses  on  board  of  ships  and  boats 
were  made  of  granulated  cork. 

992.  When  one  of  a  "  pair  "  is  lost,  or  rendered 
useless,  there  is  some  fellow  creature  —  a  maimed 
soldier  or  sailor — who  could  use  the  other  to  ad- 
vantage.   A  society  in  a  large  city,  for  the  recep- 
tion or  distribution  of  these  "  odds,"  could  make 
a  large  addition  to  human  comfort  by  thus  utiliz- 
ing all  the  odd  boots,  shoes,  ear-rings,  bracelets, 
sleeve-buttons,  and  cork  limbs  in  the  country. 

993.  A  boy  got  drunk,  his  employers  dismissed 
him  ;  the  other  boys  in  the  glass  factory  refused 
to  work  unless  he  was  reinstated  ;  all  the  boys 
were  discharged  and  the  proprietors  directed  their 
foreman  to  employ  others  ;  the  foreman  replied  it 
was  not  his  business ;    the   proprietors    put   out 
their  fires,  closed  the  doors  of  their  establishment, 
not  to  be  opened  for  six  months,  thus  throwing 
out  of  employment  seventy-five  persons,  a  number 
of   whom   had  families  dependent  on  their  daily 
labors,  suggesting  the  wisdom  of  a  law  for  the  sig- 
nal punishment  of  any  one  giving  or  selling  liquor 
to  any  minor. 


214  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

994.  The  Sabbath  is  the  welcome  rest  day  of 
the  week  for  the  wearied  body,  and  for  the  repose 
of  the  soul. 

995.  Happy  is  it  that  we  do  not  know,  in  the 
morning,  what  history  the  close  of  the  day  will 
write,   of  its  frictions,  its  agitations,  its  disturb- 
ances, its  obstacles,  its  struggles  ;  what  anticipa- 
tions unrealized,  what  hopes  blasted,  what  troubles 
encountered,  what  sorrows  endured. 

996.  A  man   with   less   muscular   power   may 
often  accomplish  many  times  more  than  one  of 
greater   bodily  vigor,  by   having   a   clearness    of 
brain  which  points  out  an  easier  way. 

997.  A  man  who  very  early  in   the   morning 
makes  a  good  hearty  breakfast  of  milk,  with  boiled 
Indian   or  oat  or  wheat  meal,  will   have   better 
health,  a  stronger  body,  and  a  clearer  brain  than  he 
who  makes  a  late  breakfast  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 

998.  If  you  want  to  diminish  your  weight,  exer- 
cise ;  if  you  want  to  increase  it,  eat  heartily  and 
do  nothing. 

999.  Do  the  work  of  your  life  well,  and  whether 
shoe-black  or  prime  minister,  you  will  stand  on 
the  same  plane  at  the  judgment-day. 

f      1000.  Many  times  the  wife  is  number  one,  the 
husband  a  cipher. 

1001.  All  sick  people  want  to  get  well,  but  not 
always  in  the  best  way.  Said  a  wealthy  man, 
"  Doctor,  strike  at  the  root  of  the  disease,"  and 
smash  went  the  decanter  under  the  faithful  phy- 
sician's cane. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2 1 5 

1002.  The  very  thing  you  most  dislike  in  an- 
other, may  be   seen  by  another  in  you,  —  exag- 
gerated. 

1003.  Men  should  be  paid  for  accomplishing, 
not  for  mere  working,  else  thoroughness  and  skill 
are  without  reward,  and  a  premium  is  put  on  lazi- 
ness and  botchery. 

1004.  Power  to  labor  is  often  wasted  in  working 
with  dull   tools,   shackling  machinery,  and   poor 
materials. 

1005.  The  Patent  Office  contains  many  a  sad 
proof  of  half  a  life  wasted  by  men  in  devising  what 
had  been  accomplished  before  they  began. 

1006.  "  Festina   lente,"    slow  and   sure,  would 
many  times  save  doing  work  over  again. 

1007.  What  you  do,  do  well ;  what  you  know, 
know  thoroughly. 

1008.  A  large  amount  of  general  knowledge  is 
comparatively  useless  for  all  the  practical  purposes 
of  life.     We  need  details. 

1009.  Whatever  pursuit  elevates  the  mental  or 
moral  nature  tends  to  promote  the  bodily  health  ; 
hence,  philosophers  live  long,  and  hard  study  pro- 
motes longevity,  by  its  tranquilizing  and    pleas- 
ureable   influence  on  the  system,  as  seen  by  its 
promotion   of   the   circulation   of   the   blood,   by 
attracting   it   to  the  brain   to  feed   it,  and   then 
Sending  it  away  to  the  heart  and  lungs  to  be  re- 
vivified. 

1010.  It  is   not   overtasking  the   brain  which 
brings    many  '  students   into    a   condition    of   ill- 
health  ;  it  is  overtasking  the  stomach. 


2l6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

ion.  The  brain  sometimes  does  not  work  well, 
thought  is  an  effort,  logic  an  impossibility  ;  but  it 
will  all  come  right  if  the  man  goes  to  work  out  of 
doors,  and  continues  it  until  the  digestion  is  good 
enough  to  make  a  purer  blood  for  the  brain  to  feed 
upon. 

1012.  Sometimes     persons     feel     themselves 
slighted   by  those  who  formerly  knew  them,  be- 
cause they  are  poor,  when  really  it  is  because  they 
are  vulgar  and  without  cultivation. 

1013.  Youth  is  beautiful  to  the  aged ;  yet  who 
of  them  would  go  back  to  youth  to  take  the  whole 
of  it :  its  ragged  clothes,  its  improprieties,  its  in- 
cessant restrictions,  its  forced  obedience,  and  of- 
ten to  unreasonable  requirements.    No,  no ;   the 
most  we  want  of  youth  is  its  years. 

1014.  It  may  come  to  pass  in  time  that  human 
maladies  may  be  removed  by  a  good  dinner  of  a 
specified  quality  :  for  example,  persons  have  been 
cured  of  the  most  distressing  neuralgia  of  many 
months'  standing,  by  taking   one  twentieth  of  a 
grain  of  phosphorus,  or  five  drops  of  the  mother 
tincture  of  the  same,  and  repeat  every  few  hours 
until  relieved.     Phosphorus  is  the  peculiar  food  of 
the  nerves,  and  when  they  are  not  nourished  - 
are  hungry  —  this  pain  is  their  cry  for  food  ;  and 
as  fish  contains  this  element  largely,  a  good  din- 
ner of  bass  and  breakfast  of  trout,  might  effectra 
permanent  cure,  supplementing  it  with  four  hours 
in  the  forenoon  and  three  in  the  afternoon,  in 
steady,  active  labor  in  the  open  air,  daily. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2 1 7 

1015.  As  we  are  nearing  the  grave  it  should  be 
with    accumulated    sweetness    and    dignity,  and 
generous  allowances  for  the  foibles  of  youth,  the 
failures  of  the  unfortunate,  and  the  fallings  of  the 
tempted. 

1016.  If  chapped  hands  have  rubbed  into  them 
finely  powdered  starch,  soon  after  they  are  wiped 
with  a  towel,  after  every  washing  or  wetting,  the 
most  grateful  relief  is  immediately  experienced. 

1017.  Dyspeptics  should  confine  themselves  to 
dry  food  mainly,  and  not  drink  anything  at  meals. 

1018.  As  eating  raw  or  insufficiently  cooked  hog 
meat,  fresh  or  salted,  causes  the  terrible  pork- 
worm  disease,  so  may  eating  raw  beef  give  tape- 
worm ;   hence,  it  is  safest  that    all  fresh    meats 
should  be  cooked  through  and  through,  though  not 
enough  to  be  dried  ;  they  should  be  soft,  moist, 
and  juicy  on  the  inside  ;  the  surface  may  be  al- 
most charred  ;    this   saves  all   the    juices.     Well 
boiled,  or  well  roasted  or  baked  meats,  never  give 
worms. 

1019.  The  want  of  specific  instructions  to  a  pa- 
tient has  sometimes  led  to  odd  results.     An  Irish 
servant  girl  was  told  to  apply  a  mustard  plaster  to 
her  chest ;   she  was  still  suffering  next  morning, 
as  she  had  made  the  application  to  the  lid  of  her 
clothes'  box.    And  as  odd  was  the  action  of  a  man 
who  was  directed  to  take  two  pills  in  some  con- 
venient vehicle,  and    not  having   a  carriage    the 
operation  was  gone  through  while  the  patient  was 
seated  in  a  wheel-barrow. 


218  HO W  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1020.  Moodiness  seems  to  be  the  malady  of  in- 
tellectual   men,   as    authors,   artists,   and    poets. 
Gilbert  Stuart  was  almost  as  much  famed  for  this 
as  for  his  paintings.     His  three  gifted  sisters  were 
affected  in  the  same  way,  one  of  them  becoming 
a  maniac.      Washington   Alston,   so   gentle   and 
gentlemanly,  was  often  seized  with  paroxysms  of 
profanity,  which  he  could  not  control.     The  cause 
of  these  infirmities  is  too  intense  and  steady  ap- 
plication ;  the  mind  may  become  crazed  on  any 
subject  if  allowed  to  dwell  on  it  exclusively  and 
intensely. 

1021.  A  foreign  substance  is  readily  removed 
from  the  ear  by  looping  a  horse-hair,  dropping  it 
into   the   ear,  then   turn  it  until  it  catches,  and 
draw  it  out  gently ;  just  as  in  getting  a  cork  out 
of  a  bottle  with  a  looped  string. 

1 02 2.  The    routine   of   city  life   is   sometimes 
amazing,  and  one  is  almost  led  to  wonder  that  a 
man  is  not  turned  into  a  machine.     Vanboskerk 
died  the  other  day  beyond  four-score  ;  for  forty 
years  he  was  never  absent  from  the  barge  office  a 
single  day,  reaching  it  at  six  in  the  morning  and 
leaving  it  at  seven  at  night,  Sundays  and  holidays 
all  alike. 

1023.  If  you  are  making  a  very  moderate  living 
at  your  business,  stick  to  it  by  all  means,  and  let 
everything  else  outside  severely  alone ;  for  if  you 
can  barely  live  by  an  occupation  about  which  you 
know  everything,  you  cannot  expect  to  succeed  in 
another  of  which  you  know  nothing. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2 1 9 

1024.  A  frozen  limb  is  whitened :  then  cold  ap- 
plications less  than  ice-cold  should  be  made  until 
the  skin  resumes  its  natural  color ;  but  the  parts 
should  be  handled  with  great  care,  as  the  frozen 
portion  is  very  brittle,  and  is  easily  broken  off. 

1025.  If  you  are  thinking  of  making  a  change 
in  your  business  with  the  hope  that  you  will  do 
better,  first  try  to  put  more  energy  into  it. 

1026.-  "  Without  fame  or  fortune  at  forty,  without 
fame  or  fortune  always,"  is  the  sentiment  of  many, 
oftener  expressed  by  the  saying,  that  if  a  man  is  not 
rich  at  forty,  he  never  will  be.  It  was  after  forty 
that  Sir  Walter  Scott  became  the  great  unknown  ; 
it  was  after  forty  that  Palmerston  was  found  to  be 
England's  greatest  prime  minister  of  the  century  ; 
the  peerless  philanthropist,  Peabody,  was  compar- 
atively a  poor  man  at  forty  years.  At  that  age, 
Lincoln  and  Grant  were  obscure  and  poor  citizens 
of  country  towns  in  the  far  West.  Howe,  of  the 
sewing-machine,  was  utterly  destitute  at  thirty- 
five,  a  millionnaire  six  years  later. 

1027.  A  young  lady  after  skating  complained  of 
one  foot  being  very  cold  ;  she  was  advised  to  put  it 
in  warm  water,  the  result  was  inflammation,  morti- 
fication, and  amputation.  She  should  have  placed 
the  foot  at  first  in  water  not  quite  ice-cold ;  after  a 
few  minutes,  half  as  cold,  then  milk  warm  ;  the  ob- 
ject being  to  restore  it  to  its  natural  heat  by  very 
slow  degrees  ;  or  if  no  house  is  at  hand,  rub  the 
part  with  snow  or  cold  water,  then  with  flannels, 
and  then  with  the  hands. 


220  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1028.  "Will  it  hurt  me  much,  doctor,  to  take  a 
little  spirits  now  and  then  ? "  "  No,  it  will  not  hurt 
you  much ;  but  if  you  don't  take  any,  it  will  not 
hurt  you  at  all." 

1029.  The  itching  of  chilblains  is  exceedingly 
troublesome,  and  as  they  are  caused  by  warming 
the  hands  or  feet  too  suddenly  after  being  very 
cold,  the  prevention   suggests  itself :   the   blains 
themselves  are  cured  by  rubbing  into  the  parts 
most    thoroughly,    three    or  four    times   a   day, 
warmed  alcohol,  spirits  of  camphor,  or  hartshorn, 
until  the  itching  and  leaden  hue  of  the  skin  has 
disappeared. 

1030.  By  all  the  affectionate  memories  of  your 
childhood's  love  to  your  parents,  and  by  all  that 
is  generous  and  manly  in  your  nature,  when  you 
have  left  the  home  of  your  youth  and  have  gone 
out  into  the  world  to  carve  your  own  fortunes, 
write  to  them   promptly,  lovingly  ;   write  often  ; 
write  long  letters ;  if  you  could  only  know  the 
pleasurable   interest  they  feel  in  every  sentence, 
in  every  line,  in  every  additional  word,  even  down 
to  the  mechanical  "Your  loving  son,"  "Your  af- 
fectionate daughter,"  you  would  never  cease  writ- 
ing until  the  last  line  on  the  last  page  is  filled  out. 

1031.  If  a  man  gets  into  the  habit  of  giving 
something  to  every  good  cause,  or  of  making  con- 
tributions in  church  whenever  asked,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  he  will  be  relieved  of  a  vast  amount  of 
troublesome  debating  with  himself  about  whether 
he  shall  give  anything  or  not. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  221 

1032.  No  one  can  ever  imagine  the  void  that  is 
left  in  a  parent's  heart  when  a  child  goes  from 
home  for  the  first   time   to  be  permanently  ab- 
sent, until  placed  in  the  same  circumstances  as  a 
parent. 

1033.  If  a  burn  or  scald  is  superficial,  plunge  it 
instantly  in  cold  water,  then  sprinkle   over  with 
flour  until  no  more  will  stick  on  ;  in  three  or  four 
days  there  will  be  a  new  skin  if  the  scale  is  al- 
lowed to  fall  off  of  itself ;  or  apply  a  thick  layer 
of  common  cotton  so  that  it  shall  remain  in  its 
place.     If  the  injury  is  deep,  spare  the  strength  of 
the  patient  in  every  possible  way,  cut  off  the  cloth- 
ing, wrap  up  in  blankets  ;  if  much  pain  give  opium, 
chloroform,  or  ether,  and  let  the  necessary  atten- 
tions be  given  while  insensible ;  apply  a  solution 
of  half  an  ounce  of   chloride  of   soda  and  three 
grains  of  morphia  to  a  pint  of  water,  to  soothe 
the  burned  surface,  then  wrap  the  patient  in  cot- 
ton batting.     Coffee  is  better  than  brandy  or  al- 
cohol to  keep  up  the  strength,  because  the  remote 
effect  of  these  is  to  chill ;  or  lie  under  water  on  a 
couch  of  leathern  straps  ;  or  cover  the  body  most 
completely  with  wheat  bran  in  case  of  extensive 
scalds  of  children.     In  all  cases,  let  the  body  be 
exposed  to  the  air  the  fewest  number  of  seconds 
possible,  and  do  all  that  can  be  done  to  compose 
the  mind  and  save  the  strength. 

1034.  The  best  and  safest  tooth  powder  is  warm 
water  applied  with  a  brush  on  rising,  and  soon 
after  the  last  meal  of  the  day. 


222  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1035.  Before  children  get  to  be  twenty  years  old, 
parents  begin  to  lean  on  them,  although  they  do  not 
show  it,  or  are  not  conscious  of  it  themselves,  for 
already  do  they  begin  to  feel  something  of  an  in- 
clination to  look  outside  of  themselves  for  help. 

1036.  "Is    he    coming   to   breakfast?"    "Yes, 
marm  ;  he  is  sharpening  his  teeth."     The   Irish 
house-maid   had   seen   the   gentleman  using    his 
tooth-brush.      Teeth    are   not   indeed    sharpened 
by  the  tooth-brush,  but  many  are  ruined  by  the 
use  of   powders    which    contain  acids  capable  of 
destroying  the  enamel. 

1037.  The  easiest  way  of  doing  good  is  to  be 
good,  then  the  doing  good  comes  spontaneously, 
without  an  effort. 

1038.  A  Sunday-school  teacher  in  Ohio  asked 
a  boy  of   thirteen  who  made  him.     "Why,  God 
made  me  so  long,"  holding  his  hands  a  foot  apart, 
"  but  I  growed  the  rest."     This  is  not  more  out 
of  the  way  than  those  of  larger  growth,  who  hab- 
itually  speak   of    sickness   as   a  dispensation   of 
Providence  ;  while  the  truth  is,  we  bring  on  our 
own  diseases  by  ignorance,  carelessness,  and  .self 
indulgence. 

1039.  A  very  great  deal  has  been  written  about 
the  safety  of  boiling  water,  before  it  is  drank,  as  a 
means  of  destroying  microscopic  living  things.     It 
seems  that  now,  when  ships  are  able,  by  machin- 
ery, to  make  all  the  fresh  water  they  want  at  sea, 
the  sickness  and  mortality,  on  board  sailing  ves- 
sels particularly,  is  greatly  diminished. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  22$ 

1040.  It  is  a  good  plan  for  all  travellers  to  drink 
as  little  water  as  possible.    Sweet  milk  and  butter- 
milk, and  the  acids  of  fruits,  are  safe  and  nutri- 
tious  substitutes.     They   can  be   had    at  almost 
every  farm-house  by  the  way-side,  and  are  cooling 
and  healthful. 

1041.  "Cheaper  than  dirt,"  was  the  label  on  a 
cake  of  soap  in  a  Boston  shop  window,  and  it  is 
very  true.     Dirt  is  one  of  the  dearest  things  in 
existence,  in  certain  places  on  the  face,  hands,  or 
at  the  ends  of  the  finger  nails,  in  a  conspicuous 
segment   of  black ;  dirt  in   cellars,  closets,  cup- 
boards, attics,  back  yards,  gutters.    What  sickness, 
what  death,  what  doctors'  bills,  what  crushings  of 
heart  and  hope  in  millions  of  cases  which  might 
have   been   averted    by   habits   of   personal   and 
household  cleanliness. 

1042.  It  is  said  that  Shakespeare  died  of  fever 
and  ague  short  of  three-score.     Any  one  who  has 
visited  his  birth-place  and  home  would  think  it 
quite  likely.     He  lived  a  short  distance  from  the 
banks  of  the  Avon.     The  land  was  almost  as  level 
as  a  floor  ;  even  now  there  is  a  sepulchral  damp- 
ness in  the  evening ;  much  more  so  must  it  have 
been  then  when  it  was  thickly  wooded  ;  and  then 
the  pernicious  custom  of  the  times  to  sit  out  of 
doors  after  sun-down,  till  a  late  hour  in  the  night, 
drinking  hilariously,  as  he  often  did,  was  well  cal- 
culated to  induce  intermittents.     Sitting  still  in 
the  night  air  is  always   pernicious,  more  or  less, 
when  the  air  or  earth  are  damp. 


224  HOW  TO  LIVE 

1043.  Politeness  has  been  compared  to  an  air 
cushion,  which  is  very  comfortable,  even  if  there 
is  nothing  in  it.     It  is  true  that  politeness  and 
compliments,  however  unmeaning  and  mechanical, 
do  smooth  the  rough  places,  and  add  much,  with 
little  cost,  to  the  enjoyableness  of  life.     A  beauti- 
ful woman  once  said  reproachfully  to  Talleyrand, 
"  You  passed  without  looking  at  me,  yesterday." 
"  Ah,  madam,  if  I  had  stopped  to  look  at  you,  I 
would  not  have  been  able  to  go  further." 

1044.  Excuses  are  hypocrisies. 

1045.  I*  is  no  wonder  that  the  average  of  life, 
less  than  four  centuries  ago,  was  half  what  it  is 
now,  —  twenty  instead  of  forty  years.     Erasmus 
says  that  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  the  floors 
were  commonly  covered  with  rushes,  which  soon 
became  so  damp  as  to  keep  the  feet  wet ;  and  that 
the  dining-rooms  were  particularly  filthy,  for  bits 
of  meat  and  bones  were  thrown  on  the  floor  for 
the  dogs,  and  to  this  the  leavings  of  beer  and  wine 
in  the  cups  was  added.     Slices  of  bread  were  used 
as  plates  to  eat  their  meat  from,  and  at  the  end 
of   the   meal  were   tossed  under  the  table  ;    the 
rushes  not  being  removed  for  weeks  and  months. 
Even  Queen  Elizabeth  often  laid  on  the  floor  to 
sleep  at  night,  on  two  or  three  folds  of  cloth  or 
woolen,  for  beds  and  mattrasses  were  not  known 
then. 

1046.  The  more  deliberate  the  enunciation  of  a 
speaker,  the  less  strength  is  expended,  and  the 
longer  he  can  speak  without  fatigue. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  22$ 

1047.  A  little  three  year  old,  on  waking  up  one 
morning  and  seeing  the  moon,  innocently  solilo- 
quized, "  I  should  tink  it  was  about  time  to  take 
that  moon  in,"  so  busy  is  the  brain  of  earliest 
childhood,  comparing,  investigating,  judging,  to  be 
continued  until  life's  latest  close. 

1048.  It  has  been  said,  with  some  ground  of 
truth,  that  in   the  first  four  years  of    childhood 
more  different  and  more  numerous  things  have  to 
be  learned,  a  larger  number  of  ideas   enter  the 
brain  than  at  any  subsequent  period  of  life  of  equal 
duration.     The  names  of  all  the  objects  they  see ; 
the  meaning  of  all  the  words  they  hear  ;  the  con- 
clusions arrived   at  from  all  that   passes   before 
them  ;  the  judgments  they  form  of  all  the  charac- 
ters about  them  ;   and  the  innumerable  inexpli- 
cable things  which  they  have  to  ferret   out  and 
unravel  and  classify  in  presence  of  the  inconsist- 
encies of  parents,  visitors,  servants. 

1049.  It  is  supposed  that  the  brain  never  ceases 
its  action,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  ;  our  dreams 
show  that  it  is  working  in  sleep.    Happy  they  who 
can  give  it  that  direction  which  keeps  the  thoughts 
of  the  heart  pure,  loving,  and  humane,  always. 

1050.  As,  up  to  1875,  science  has  demonstrated 
that  the  gases  of  the  sun  contain  iron,  lime,  mag- 
nesia, and  salt,  we  may  conclude  that  our  sunshine 
contains  these  ingredients  ;  hence,  its  value,  from 
a  plentiful  exposure  to  it,  in  building  up  vegetation 
and  man  and  animal,  giving  strength  and  growth 
and  health  and  vigor  to  all. 

15 


226  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1051.  "  Man  goeth  to  his  long  home,"  saith  the 
Scripture,  meaning  his  "perpetual  house,"  which, 
therefore,  must  be  eternal  with  its  "  many  man- 
sions,"   to   be    jointly  inhabited   by  the   Eternal 
Builder,  with  those  of  whom  it  is  said  — 

"  And  we  his  offspring  are  ;  " 

the  Builder,  the  house,  the  occupants,  all  eternal. 

1052.  Algoid  growth  is  vegetative,  deriving  its 
nourishment  from  that  in  which  it  is  immersed,  as 
the  green  scum  on  still  ponds,  and  is  as  immensely 
reproductive  as  the  fungoid,  exemplified   in  the 
puff   ball,  which   grows   in  a  night,  and    has  as 
many  spores  or  multiples  of  itself  as  there  are 
people  on  the  globe ;  and  they  are  so  minute  and 
transportable  and  light  that  the  whole  air  is  filled 
with  them  in  certain  localities.     Wherever  these 
spores  lodge,  say,  on  moist  surfaces,  they  stick 
like  a  particle  of  'dry  flour  on  a  wet   spot,  and 
wherever  they  thus  stick,  as  in  the  mouth,  the 
inner  lining  of  the  nose,  or  any  similar  mucous 
surface,  they  feed  and  multiply  by  millions  in  a 
few  hours.     Whether   this  multiplication   is   the 
cause  of  disease,  as  the  germ  theory  claims,  or 
whether  poison  becomes  attached  to  it  in  its  prog- 
ress through  the  air  from  its  original  home  to  its 
resting  place,  —  some  malignant  poison,  —  we  do 
not  as  yet  know ;  but  this  we  do  know,  that  these 
vegetable  algoid  and  fungoid  spores  or  cells  are 
present  in  disease,  multiply  by  millions  in  a  night ; 
that  they  do  not  exist  except  in  damp,  flat,  and 
warm  localities,  and  these  we  ought  to  avoid. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS. 

1053.  As  man  was   made  in  the  image  of  his 
Creator,  he  is  more  allied  to  divinity  than  to  dust ; 
hence,  it  is  a  more  perfect  analogy  to  say  that,  like 
the  Divine,  he  shall  live  forever,  than  like  the  dust 
to  perish. 

1054.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  the 
final  winding  up  of  earth's  history,  it  will  be  found 
that  not  one  of  all  its  millions  has  ever  lived  in 
vain  ;  that  each  has  had  a  use  or  purpose,  making 
only  two  classes,  those  who  performed  their  mis- 
sion willingly,  and  those  who   did  not ;  yet  the 
object  of  the  creation  of  the   latter  was  accom- 
plished  by  their  work  being  overruled  to  good 
ends  ;  but  not  having  worked  willingly  they  have 
no  reward. 

1055.  In  public  speaking,  a  low  voice,  uttering 
each  word  and  syllable,  with  a  clear-cut  enuncia- 
tion, is  more  distantly  and  distinctly  heard  than  a 
tone  of  thunder,  without  a  break  in  a  whole  sen- 
tence. 

1056.  The   missing  link  between   animal   and 
vegetable  life  seems  to  have  been  found  in  the 
bacteria,  or  protesta,  a  hundred  thousandth  part  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.     He  who  finds  the  missing 
link  which  binds  soul  and  body  will  make  himself 
an  undying  fame. 

1057.  Bleeding   from  an   extracted   tooth   has 
been,  sometimes,  fatal.     It  is  controlled  by  a  plug 
made  of  grated  nutmeg,  browned  like  burnt  coffee, 
or  persulphate  of  iron,  or  by  closing  the  mouth 
and  pressing  on  the  gum  with  the  finger. 


228  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1058.  Notwithstanding  the  progress  which  the 
use  of  the  microscope  has  made  in  the  discovery 
of  hidden  truths,  we  are  yet  in  the  dark  as  to 
whether  the  infinitesimal  cell,  or  fungus,  or  spore, 
whether  the  bacteria  or  micoscocus,  and  the  vibria, 
are  the  causes  of  disease  or  the  merciful  scaven- 
gers of  creation,  to  absorb  or  consume  the  causes 
of  disease,  and  thus  clear  filth  out  of  the  world. 

1059.  One  pound  of  powdered  sulphur  thrown 
into  a  flame  will  instantly  absorb  the  oxygen  of  a 
hundred  cubic  feet  of  air,  or  of  a  room  five  feet 
each  way  ;  hence,  a  handful  or  two  of  this  familiar 
substance  will  instantly  extinguish  the  flames  (if 
thrown  into  it)  of  a  burning  chimney,  or  an  apart- 
ment on  fire,  if  kept  closed. 

1060.  That  exercise  is  best,  which  is   steady, 
moderate,  and  continuous  ;   that  which  is  fitful, 
violent,  and  protracted  to  excessive  fatigue,  always 
does  more  harm  than  good. 

1 06 1.  Every  day  that  passes  after  a  person  be- 
comes insane,  without  being  sent  to  a  well-ordered 
asylum,  diminishes  the  chances  of  recovery. 

1062.  An  increasing  ability  to  sleep  well,  is  the 
sure  indication  of  convalescence  from  dangerous 
disease  and  lunacy. 

1063.  The   average   life   of   the   well-to-do   is 
eleven  years  longer  than  that  of  the  day  laborer. 

1064.  "  Growl  if  you  do  and  growl  if  you  don't," 
said  a  kind,  indulgent,  and  liberal  husband  one 
day.     If   any  husband  can  have  the  same  thing 
said  of  him  he  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  himself. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  22() 

1065.  That  married  life  is  happiest  which  wit- 
nesses the  most  continuous  series  of  self-abnega- 
tions ;  and  that  is  the  most  unfortunate  which  is 
characterized  by  the  most  habitual  exhibitions  of 
selfish  aims  and  ends. 

1066.  It  may  seem   contradictory,  but  it  is  a 
fact,  that  the  longer  an  educated  physician  lives, 
the  more  confidence  he  has  in  the  efficacy  of  med- 
icine, and  the  more  he  is  inclined  to  do  without 
it,  until  it  becomes  indispensable. 

1067.  The  philosophy  of  medication  is  founded 
on   observed  facts.     Tartar   emetic    acts  on    the 
stomach,   brandy    affects    the    brain,   strychnine 
shocks  the  nerves,  Virginia  snake  root  retards  the 
circulation  of  the  blood  by  arresting  the  action  of 
the  heart,  and  calomel  stimulates  the  liver.     It  is 
not  improbable  that  every  important  part  of  the 
human  system  is  amenable  to  some  one  remedial 
agent  or  another  in  nature.     We  may  never  know 
the  why  or  the  how  of  these  things,  but  the  facts 
themselves  are  undeniable,  and  these  constitute 
the  reasons   for  administering   medicine   in   any 
case,  and  thus  far  it  is  a  science. 

1068.  In    all    flat,,  damp    localities,    breakfast 
should  be  taken  before  leaving  the  house  in  the 
morning,   and   supper   at   sundown,  as    a   means 
of   antagonizing  all  miasmatic   influences  on  the 
system. 

1069.  The  man  who  is  always  in  a  hurry  is  the 
very  man  who,  at  the  end  of  a  life-time,  has  the 
least  to  show  for  it. 


230  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1070.  All  know  that  a  lump  of  ice  in  a  glass  of 
water  melts  very  slowly ;  but  if  divided  into  pea- 
sized  pieces  and  stirred  round,  it  is  melted  with 
many  times  greater  rapidity,  each  piece  being  dis- 
solved from  without  inwards,  and  the  surface  ex- 
posed  to  the  water  being  multifold  greater.     So 
it  is  with  the  food  in  the  stomach,  the  juices  of 
which  envelop  it  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  it  to 
a  liquid  form,  to  prepare  it  for  yielding  its  nour- 
ishment to  the  system  ;  the  more  numerous  the 
pieces,  and  the  smaller,  the  greater  will  be  the 
amount  of  surface  exposure,  and  the  more  rapidly 
will  it  be  dissolved ;  hence  the  reason  for  chewing 
food  well. 

1071.  One  of  the  most  comfortless,  dreary,  and 
unsatisfactory  methods  of  eating  is  to  take  a  lunch 
at  any  public  place.     It  would  be  better,  safer,  and 
more   healthy  to  bring  a  sandwich   from   home. 
This  would  cost  nothing  extra  ;  would  save  from 
the  temptation  of  "  taking  something,"  meaning 
liquor,  at  a  public  place ;  would  modify  the  hun- 
ger without  impairing  the  appetite  for  a  good  din- 
ner after  business  hours.     Such  a  method  would 
be  less  injurious  to  the  system  than  bolting  a  din- 
ner at  an  eating-house,  and  washing  it  down  with 
a  glass  of  brandy.     Many  a  man  has  taken  his 
first  lesson  in  liquor-drinking  at  eating-houses. 

1072.  If  persons  were  to  eat  but  thrice  a  day, 
cut  up  all  their  food  into  pea-sized  pieces,  and 
chew  it  deliberately,  dyspepsia  would  be  no  longer 
a  national  disease. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  231 

1073.  Science  seems  to  show  that  if  the  lowest 
form  of   animal  or  insect  life  feeds  on  elements 
found  in  stale  boiled  milk,  it  grows  and  flourishes 
in  carbuncle  ;  if  it  is  nourished  by  the  stale  boiled 
egg,  it  is  present  in  contagious  fevers ;  while  others 
which  revel  in  alcoholic  producers,  find  their  homes 
in  diphtheria,  typhoid,  and  intestinal  maladies,  and 
yet  all  these   forms  are  apparently   similar ;    so, 
also,  in  any  number  of  young  children,  to  all  ap- 
pearances alike,  there  will  be  different  represent- 
atives in.  mature  life,  as  to  their  mental,  moral, 
and  physical  nature,  according  to  the  kind  of  food 
furnished  each  during  their  growing  period.     A 
faulty  logic  will  debase  the  mind  ;  immoral  teach- 
ings will  corrupt  the  heart ;  vicious  practices  will 
undermine  the  constitution  ;  and  as  certainly  will 
unsuitable  food  impair  the  health. 

1074.  We  eat  to  live,  and  if  we  eat  wisely  of 
what  He  has  provided   who  "hath  given  us  all 
things  richly  to  enjoy,"  we  will  live  well,  health- 
fully, and  long. 

1075.  If  a  person  must  take  a  nap  during  the 
day  it  should  be  a  short  one,  and  if  taken  in  the 
forenoon  will  be  less  likely  to  interfere  with  the 
sleep  at  night  than  if  indulged  in  during  the  after 
part  of  the  day. 

1076.  A  father  thinking  it  a  mere  notion  that 
his  little  five-year  old  daughter  should  be  afraid  to 
sleep  in  a  room  alone,  locked  the  door  in  dark- 
ness to  find  a  few  hours  later  that  the  little  child 
had  died  in  a  fit. 


232  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1077.  There  is  a  very  strong  tendency  in  many 
minds  to  insanity  upon  some  one  particular  sub- 
ject in  consequence  of  dwelling  upon  it,  and  look- 
ing only  at  such  circumstances  as  serve  to  confirm 
their  opinion,  while  they  attach  no  weight  to  the 
opposite.     Persons  of  this  class  are  called  hob- 
byhorsical,  and  are  considered  the  victims  of  a 
harmless  mental  infirmity.     But  it  is  not  always 
harmless,  either  to   the   individual  or  to  others, 
especially  if  of  a  practical  character.     Frederika 
Bremer  said   that  her  father  nearly  starved  his 
children  to  death,  under  the  influence  of  vagaries 
in  reference  to  keeping  down  the  animal  and  ele- 
vating the  spiritual  nature  by  means  of  a  spare 
diet. 

1078.  Bear  in  mind  that  a  drink  of  water  may 
be  more  instantly  fatal  than  a  drink  of   brandy. 
A  brave  French  general  in  the  Crimean  war  died 
in  a  few  moments  from  drinking  a  glass  of  snow- 
water, after  reaching  the  top  of  a  mountain  with 
his  artillery,  while  in  a  heated  condition.     Even 
if  in  the  slightest  perspiration,  hold  the  glass  in 
the  closed  hand  for  half  a  moment,  and  remove  it 
from   the   lips  after   each   swallow;    thus   a   few 
mouthfuls  will  as  effectually  satisfy  the  thirst  as  a 
whole  glass  drank  down  without  an  intermission. 

1079.  Tne  fear  °f  night  air  retards  the  recov- 
ery of  multitudes.     Out-door   air   is   purer  than 
that  in-doors  and  more  healthful,  only  if  a  good 
meal  has  been  taken,  and  the  utmost  care  is  ob- 
served to  prevent  the  slightest  chilliness. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  233 

1 080.  It  is  not  so  much  -what  we  eat,  as  the 
amount  of  it,  which  ruins    so    many  stomachs  ; 
quantity  rather  than  quality. 

1 08 1.  Never   part  with   your   husband   in   the 
morning  as  he  leaves  for  the  business  of  the  day 
with  an  unkind  word  on  your  tongue  ;  he-  may  be 
returned  a  corpse ;  it  has  been  so  many  a  time 
and  oft,  and  then  there  are  sharp-pointed  memo- 
ories  for  a   life-time  afterwards.     The  man  who 
leaves   his  wife  in  the  morning  with   an   angry 
word,  and  greets  her  on  his  return  in  the  evening 
with  a  growl,  is  an  unmitigated  brute. 

1082.  It  would  be  considered  an  outrage  for  a 
person  to  bring  disease  into  a  community,  delib- 
erately, through  infected  clothing  or  otherwise ; 
yet  the  propagation  of  false  news,  the  dissemina- 
tion of  mischievous  sentiments,  and  doing  things 
which  disturb  the  public  peace,  ruffle  the  flow  of 
quiet  life  in. any  neighborhood,  and  to  that  extent 
diffuse  an  element  of  disease  into  every  household, 
is  often  thoughtlessly  done. 

1083.  The  perfection  of  architecture  is  to  con- 
struct a  family  dwelling  in  such  a  way  that  no 
one  room  shall  be  dependent  on  another  for  its 
warmth  ;  that  each  apartment  shall  have  an  ade- 
quate and  independent  ventilation  of  its  own,  and 
that  all  the  drainings  shall  be  conveyed  outside 
the  walls  above  ground,  to  the   place  of  deposit 
through  pipes  visible  to  the  eye,  so  that  if  there 
be   the  smallest   leakage  it  can  be  instantly  de- 
tected. 


234  HOW  TO  LIVE 

1084.  As  the  very  slightest  flaw  or  imperfection 
in  a  diamond  is  instantly  manifested  by  immers- 
ing it  in  the  oil  of  cassia,  so  the  distant  approach 
to  age  or  wasting  bodily  disease  is  indicated  as 
plainly  and  as  certainly  by  the  quicker  pulse,  the 
shorter  breath,  and  the  thinning  flesh. 

1085.  The  most  careful  person  will  take  cold 
occasionally ;  our  wisdom  is  to  think  back  and 
find  out  the  cause,  and  thereafter  sedulously  watch 
against  it. 

1086.  Whatever  may  be  the  benefit  of  a  leisure 
walk  in  the  open  air  after  a  hearty  meal,  it  is  very 
greatly  increased  if  the  exercise  is  taken  in  a  joy- 
ous spirit,  a  hilarious  mood,  and  exhilarating  con- 
versation, with  a  perfect  obliviousness  of  every 
thing  pertaining  to  business. 

1087.  A  warm   "stew,"   getting  into  bed  with 
covering  well  tucked  in,  hot  bricks  to  feet,  and 
drinking  abundantly  of  hot  teas  until  there  is  a 
dripping  perspiration,  to  be  kept  up  an  hour  or  two 
or  more  until  the  system  is  relieved,  and  then  to 
cool  off  very  gradually  in  the  course  of  another 
hour,  is  derisively  styled  an  "  old  woman's  rem- 
edy ; "  but  for  all  that  it  will  break  up  any  cold 
taken  within   thirty-six  hours  ;   it  will   promptly 
relieve  many  of  the  most  painful  forms  of  sudden 
disease,  with  the  advantage  of  being  without  dan- 
ger, gives  no  shock  to  the  system,  nor  wastes  its 
strength. 

1088.  The  old,  the  feeble,  and  the  invalid,  should 
take  some  hot  drink  at  every  meal,  never  cold. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  235 

1089.  It  is  a  barbarism  to  compel  children  to  eat 
fat    meat,   lean    meat,   or   anything   else    against 
which  they  may  have  a  repugnance,  —  an  uncon- 
querable antipathy ;  might  as  wisely  try  to  make 
a  kitten  eat  white  beans,  or  a  chicken  drink  salt 
water. 

1090.  Drains  behind  the  plaster  and  under  the 
cellar   floor   should   be   prohibited   under   severe 
penalties. 

1091.  If  a  man  cannot  take  his  daily  exercise 
in  the  open  air  it  is  his  misfortune,  but  not  the 
less  necessary  for  all  that. 

1092.  The   mind   kills.     A   thoughtless    youth 
galloped  up  to  a  house  and  told  the  lady  that  her 
husband  had  just  been  killed ;  she  was  thrown 
into   convulsions    and   died   in   a   few   moments. 
Even  joyous  emotions  have  been  known  to  de- 
stroy life,  as  drawing  the  highest  prize  in  a  lottery. 
Thus  is  the  fact  accounted  for  that   persons  re- 
markable for  their  equanimity  and  even  temper, 
live  to  a  good  old  age. 

1093.  The  best  cure  for  a  cold  in  winter  is  to 
keep  warm  in  the  house  until  it  gets  well,  living 
wholly  on  fruits,  coarse  bread,  and  warm  drinks. 

1094.  Pensioned    persons,    whether    in    poor- 
•  house  or   palace,  have   long   been    remarked  for 

longevity  ;  it  is  because  to-morrow's  bread  has 
been  assured  to  them,  and  relieves  them  of  anx- 
iety. 

1095.  It  is  cankering  care  which  eats  out  the 
happiness  and  health  and  life  of  multitudes. 


236  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1096.  When  a  person  begins  to   shiver,  or  a 
chill  runs  over  the  body,  a  cold  has  been  already 
taken,  to  result  in  fever,  neuralgia,  or  other  dis- 
comfort, lasting  for  days  and  weeks  ;   to  prevent 
which,  exercise  instantly,  to  cause  perspiration,  or 
secure  it  by  hot  drinks,  and  keep  it  up  for  an 
hour  or  two. 

1097.  One  of  the  discoveries  of  spectral  analy- 
sis is,  that  in  the  warming  sunshine  there  is  iron 
and  lime  and  magnesia ;   the  iron  to   enrich  the 
blood,  and  give  to  the   pallid   cheek  the  hue   of 
health  ;  the  lime  to  strengthen  tooth  and  bone  : 
the  magnesia  to  meet  the  wants  of  many  of  the 
tissues  ;  hence  they  are  healthiest  who  most  court 
the  blessed  out-door  sunshine. 

1098.  The  great  and   restless  sea  has  fed  its 
fishes  to  millions  of  mouths  every  day  since  the 
world  began ;  then  there  are  the  treasures  of  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  its  forests,  its  plants, 
and  its  flowers  ;    its   mines,    its  jewels,    and   its 
diamonds  ;  the  coal  to  warm  us,  —  abundant  for 
thousands  of  years  to  come ;  its  oil  to  light  our 
dwellings, — forty  millions  worth  annually  ;  and  lo  ! 
these  are  only  a  part  of  His  ways  of  goodness  to 
man. 

1099.  Comforts  add  to  the  length  of  human- 
life  and  increase  our  enjoyments ;  discomforts  do 
neither. 

1 100.  All  sedentary  persons,  the  old,  the  young, 
the  feeble,  ought  to  have  a  cheerful,  open  fire  to 
dress  by  in  winter. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2$? 

noi.  If  a  cold  is  neglected  forty-eight  hours  it 
will  run  its  course  of  two  or  three  weeks  in  spite 
of  all  efforts  to  shorten  it. 

1 1 02.  We  should  eat  to-day  in  proportion  to 
the  exercise  or  labor  of  yesterday  ;  and  we  may 
expect  to  sleep  sound  to-night  in  'proportion  as  we 
have  earned  our  bread  by  the  sweat  of  our  brow. 

1103.  Pain  is  a  blessing.     Suppose  you  were 
to  get  drunk,  went  to  sleep,  put  your  leg  in  the 
fire,  and  it  had  no  feeling  in  it,  then  you  would 
have  to  "  cork  it "  for  the  remainder  of  your  life  ; 
and  all  because  there  was  no  such  thing  as  pain. 

1104.  Marriage  is  the  natural  state  of  man; 
no  one  can   be   happy  out    of    it ;    the  mind   is 
forever   unsettled,  forever    unsatisfied,  fruitlessly 
yearning    for   an  undefinable    something,   which 
fades  and  fails,  and  recedes  into  the  dim  distance 
ahead  with  every  advancing  year,  ending  at  last  in 
utter  hopelessness.     No  wonder  that  the  bachelor 
and  the  maiden  seldom  reach  threescore,  and  so 
largely  people  the  mad-house. 

1105.  Dreams  are  the  imperfectly  remembered 
workings  of  the  brain.     While  wide  awake,  these 
operations  are  taken  full  cognizance  of,  and  make 
too  deep  an  impression  to  be  forgotten. 

1 1 06.  Those  who   exercise   for   health    should 
work  by  the  day,  not  by  the  job  ;  slow,  deliberate 
activities  husband   the  strength,  and  put   it  out 
equably  and  advantageously  ;  fitful,  violent  labor 
shocks  the  circulation,  racks  the  body,  and  de- 
ranges the  heart's  action  most  injuriously. 


238  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1107.  The   most    careful    sometimes    eat   too 
much ;    they  feel  heavy,  dull,  oppressed,  and  ex- 
ceedingly  uncomfortable  ;    under    such    circum- 
stances, resort  is  often  had  to  a  drink  of  brandy, 
or  some  other  strong  material.     The  stomach  is 
too  full  already,  ^nd  yet  more  is  deliberately  put 
into  it  to  give  relief.     The  better  plan  is  to  take 
a  leisure  walk  in  the  open  air,  vigorous  enough  to 
keep  off  a  feeling  of  chilliness,  and  by  degrees  to 
cause  a  very  moderate  perspiration,  and  keep  it 
up  until  relieved.     Going  to  bed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  such  a  surfeit  in  the  hope  of  sleeping  it 
off,  has  often  resulted  in  cramp,  colic,  convulsions, 
or  death. 

1 1 08.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that,  as  far  as 
the  old,  the  feeble,  and  the  young  are  concerned, 
health  might  be  promoted  and  life  lengthened,  if 
feather  beds,  and  chamber  fires  to  get  up  by,  and 
a  less  free  application  of  cold  water  were  returned 
to. 

1109.  Patient   rubbing  of   sweet  oil    into    the 
skin  with  the  hand,  two  or   three  times  a  day, 
has  a  wonderfully  cooling  and  soothing  effect  in 
all  fevers  and  in  many  nervous  affections. 

i  no.  Either  cold  feet  or  constipated  bowels 
attend  a  large  majority  of  human  ailments,  the 
cure  of  which  would  be  effected  by  their  removal. 

nil.  Cold  feet,  constipation,  and  headache, 
are  the  heritage  of  bilious  persons. 

1 1 12.  Contagious  diseases  are  those  which  are 
communicated  by  a  near  approach  to  the  sick. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  239 

1113.  Kneading  the  region  of  the  liver  is  well 
worth  understanding,  as  it  aids  in  removing  several 
bodily  discomforts  ;  it  is  done  by  using  the  ball 
of  the  right  hand  and  rubbing  downwards,  begin- 
ning at  the  right  hip  bone  and  the  edge  of  the 
ribs,  and  coming  round  to  the  centre  of  the  body 
at  the  navel.     As  the  liver  is  a  large  gland  be- 
tween these  points,  a  portion  of  it  resting  on  the 
stomach,  it  is  stimulated  by  pressure  which,  in 
a  sense,  acts  upon  it  as  the  same  pressure  would 
act  upon  a  sponge  filled  with  water,  the  effect 
being  to  force  the  bile  in  the  liver  onward  to  the 
point  where  it  is  discharged  into  the  alimentary 
canal,  just  under  the  stomach.      In  this  way  the 
liver  is  sometimes  made  to  work.      This  is  also 
a  good  method  of  causing  gases  in  the  stomach 
to  pass  downwards ;   it  also  causes  the  muscles 
of   the  stomach   and  its  appendages  to   have   a 
more   healthful    motion,   antagonizing   a    consti- 
pated condition  of   the  system.     Besides,  it  is  a 
good  physical   exercise,   and  may   be   continued 
three  or  four  minutes  on  rising  and  retiring,  or 
at  any  other  time  needed. 

1114.  A  rapid  walk,  a  race,  or  trotting  on  horse- 
back,  aggravate  the  discomfort  of   an   overfilled 
stomach  ;  a  leisurely,  cheerful  walk  is  a  cure,  if 
persisted  in. 

1115.  There    is   reason   to    believe    that  taxi- 
dermy, the  planting  of  live  skin  on  a  raw  spot, 
may  be  successfully  applied  as  a  remedy  for  bald- 
ness. 


240  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1116.  The  very  first  step,  and   the  only   one 
needed  in  curing  many  diseases,  is  a  full,  free 
evacuation  of  the  alimentary  canal  by  a  puke  or 
a  purge,  by  an  emesis  or  an  enema. 

1117.  Out-door  walking  is  a  valuable  means  of 
preserving  health  and  removing  disease,  because 
it  brings  into  exercise  almost  every  muscle  of  the 
body,  each  one  of  which,  in  its  natural   action, 
tends  to  push  out  of  the  system  every  poison- 
ous,  useless,  and   cumbersome   particle,  even    a 
headless  pin  or  a  needle. 

1 1 1 8.  A   lunch   taken   leisurely   and   alone    is 
sometimes  beneficial  ;  but  always  a  positive  injury 
if  in  haste,  especially  if  tempted  to  "  take  some- 
thing" besides. 

1119.  North   of  the  Virginia  line,  the  young, 
the   old,  the  feeble,  should  put   on   the  thicker 
clothing  and  the  flannels  of  winter  not  later  than 
the  middle  of  November,  to  be  laid  aside  in  the 
early  June,  however  warm  the  weather  may  have 
been  previously. 

1 1 20.  It  is  the  common  mistake  of  the  tidy, 
economical,  and  indolent  housekeeper,   to  cease 
kindling  fires  too  early  in  the  spring,  and  defer 
it  too  late  in  the  fall,  leaving  the  children  and 
grandparents  to  shiver  in  their  shawls  and  wrap- 
pers, half -bent  with  cold,  and  faces  and  hands  all 
shrivelled  with  chilliness. 

1 121.  A  young  man  may  run  to  meet  the  cars, 
but  the  same  effort  may  snap  the  heart  strings 
of  threescore. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  24! 

1 122.  Infection  means  the  propagation  of  a  mal- 
ady through  the  clothing  or  atmosphere. 

1123.  Whenever   any  form   of  bathing  is   fol- 
lowed by  the  slightest  chill,  more  harm  has  been 
done  than  good. 

1 1 24.  Oatmeal  is  more  nourishing  and  strength- 
ening than  any  other  flour  or  meal. 

1125.  To  be  hopelessly  diseased  ;  to  be  crippled 
for  life  ;  to  have  been  born  with  a  defect  which 
wholly  incapacitates  for  self-support,  and  thus  be 
dependent  on  others  for  the  essentials  of  life,  — 
the  food  we  eat,  the  clothes  we  wear,  and  the  very 
water  we  drink,  or,  in  weary,  wasting  sickness,  to 
spend  the  long  winter  days  and  the  longer  nights 
of  months  and  years  in  pain  and  suffering  and 
helplessness,  must  be  a  sad,  sad  lot ;  and  yet  it 
doubtless  is,  in  many  cases,  'a  training  indispens- 
able, to  a  meet  preparation  for  better  things  be- 
yond time's  boundary. 

1126.  Cold  water  bathing,  to  be  always  benefi- 
cial in  applicable  cases,  should  be  actively  con- 
ducted and  fully  completed  within  three  minutes 
in  winter  and  ten  in  midsummer. 

1127.  All  that  a  man  hath  he  will  give  for  his 
health  when  it  is  lost,  but  seldom  a  dollar  for  in- 
structions how  to  preserve  it. 

1128.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  seeds 
of  consumption  and  dyspepsia  are  sown  in  the 
"  teens  "  of  life. 

1129.  Hard  students  need  nutritious  food,  and 
a  plenty  of  it. 

16 


242  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1130.  A  good  feeder  makes  a  good   worker ; 
hence  the  poorest  of  all  economies  is  to  stint  work- 
people in  their  food. 

1131.  All  persons  who  sit  or  stand  at  their  busi- 
ness should  have  the  feet  resting  on  some  woolen 
material,  as  it  does  not  conduct  the  heat  away  so 
rapidly  as  does  an  uncovered  wood  or  stone  floor. 

1132.  It  is  better  to  ride  to  one's  business  and 
walk  from  it,  whether  it  be  brain  or  body  work, 
because  the  first  strength  is  the  best  and  will  do 
the  work  best ;  the  fag  end  of  the  strength  is  good 
enough  for  mere  exercise. 

1133.  If  a  man  is  "blue  as  indigo  "  for  want  of 
funds  to  purchase  a  good  dinner,  give  him  a  ten 
dollar  bill,  and  he  will  be  the  happiest  of  mortals 
until  it  is  —  gone !  and  the  brightening  will  con- 
tinue as  often  as  the  ten  is  given.     This  naturally 
causes  the  conviction  that  money  is  "  good  for " 
low  spirits,  and  a  good  many  other  "  symptoms." 

1134.  They  can  do  most  who  sleep  best. 

1135.  The  times  for  eating  for  the  great  ma- 
jority of  people,  those  who  have  to  work  hard,  or 
are  old,  or  infirm,  or  weakly,  should  be  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  and  nothing  whatever  between. 

1 136.  The  hard  working  cannot  labor  to  advan- 
tage if  the  meals  are  more  than  six  hours  apart, 
as  they  begin  to  lose  their  strength  ;  in  all  such 
cases   the   digestive   functions   are   too  weak   to 
manage  but  a  moderate  quantity  of  food,  but  they 
would  get  over-hungry  and  would  over-eat,  if  the 
time  between  meals  is  over  six  hours. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  243 

1137.  The  power  of  natural  agencies  in  the  cure 
of  diseases  is  not  fully  appreciated,  even  by  phy- 
sicians.    A  man  was  cured  (and  remained  cured) 
of  biliousness  by  not  eating  anything  whatever 
later  than  two  P.  M.,  and  washing  the  skin  thor- 
oughly every  day  for  ten  days. 

1138.  We  eat  for  growth,  repair,  warmth,  and 
strength. 

1 1 39.  If  a  parent  proposes  to  prepare  a  son  for 
the  ministry,  or  for  the  missionary  field  in  foreign 
lands,  what  arithmetic  can  compute  the  difference 
between  the  influences  left  on  the  world's  history 
from  a  broken  constitution  on  the  day  of  leaving 
the  seminary,  to  die  in  a  year  or  two,  or  less,  and 
embarking  for  a  foreign  missionary  field  with  a 
stalwart  body  and  a  vigorous  intellect,  and  living 
to  the  age  and  power  and  influence  of  a  Judson, 
a  King,  a  Scudder,  a  Morrison,  or  a  Livingstone, 
working  for  the  elevation  of  whole  peoples  from 
barbarism  to  the  plane  of  a  Bible  Christianity. 
Let  parents  and  managers  of  our  schools,  acad- 
emies, colleges,  and  seminaries  think  of  this  and 
provide   some  reading  for  the  young  which  will 
teach  them  to  preserve  their  health. 

1140.  Eat  slowly,  cut  up  all  the  food  in  pea- 
sized  pieces,  chew  deliberately,  in  a  cheerful  mind, 
and  then  you  can  afford  to  eat  all  you  want  with- 
out the  penance  of   getting  up   from   the   table 
hungry. 

1141.  The  grandest  maxim  in  modern  medicine 
is,  sustain  the  strength  of  the  patient. 


244  HOW  T0  LIVE  LONG. 

1 142.  The  noon-day  meal  should  be  the  heart- 
iest of  the  three  taken  ;   the  last,  or  third  meal, 
should  be  about  sundown,  and  should  consist  of 
bread  and  butter  and  a  cup  of  hot  drink  ;  to  all 
classes  this  would  in  a  few  days  give  an  appetite 
for  a  good  hearty  breakfast,  with  all  the  exercise 
of  the  day  to  promote  its  digestion. 

1 143.  As  the  teachings  in  print  make  a  stronger 
impression  on  the  minds  of  the  young  than  the 
admonitions   of    parents,    however    much    loved, 
those  who  have  children  should  aim  to  provide 
them  with  at  least  some  safe  reading  in  the  course 
of  every  year,  pertaining  to  health  and  disease. 

1 144.  Abundant  warmth,  pure  air,  sound  sleep, 
and  a  plenty  of  good  things  to  eat,  will  cure  all 
ordinary  diseases  if  taken  in  time  ;  that  is,  before 
the  system  has  been  reduced  so  far  as  to  have  lost 
its   recuperative  power.     At   that  point   nothing 
will  save. 

1145.  A  beautiful  bunch  of  flowers   was   one 
day  brought  to  a  dying  lady  ;  her  face  brightened 
in   a    moment,   and    a    loving   smile   lighted   up 
her  countenance,  as  she  expressed  her  gratitude 
toward  the  friend,  herself  an  invalid,  for  her  kind 
remembrance. 

1146.  The  best  hospitals  are  detached  cabins, 
so  arranged  that  every  side  should  be  accessible 
to  the  sunlight. 

1147.  Abundant  and  uninterrupted  warmth  is 
the  best  insurer  of   three  score  against  sudden 
death. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  24$ 

1 148.  The  three  great  elementary  principles  of 
every  healthy  community,  as  well  as  of  individ- 
uals, are  pure  air,  perfect  cleanliness,  and  well- 
cooked  food. 

1 149.  There   are   multitudes    of  brave-hearted 
women,  who  had  rather  go  roofless  and  sleepless, 
the  bitterest  winter   nights  ;  had   rather   die,   as 
some  do,  poor  things,  than  to  commit  the  one 
wrong  act  which  would   give   them   money  and 
dress  and  home.     Is  not  that  the  "  best  society  " 
which  lends  a  helping  hand  to  such  in  any  large 
city  ? 

1150.  Let  every  one,  from  this  good  hour  to  the 
end  of  his  mortal  life,  make  it  a  point  to  have  a 
pleasant  smile,  to  make  a   cheerful   recognition, 
and  speak  an  encouraging  word  to  every  human 
being  whom  he  finds,  with  steadfast  eyes  fixed  on 
"  Excelsior." 

1151.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  happy 
time  will  come  when  we  may  be  able  to  preserve 
health   and   cure   disease   by   the   use   of   sugar- 
candy,  plum-pudding,   and   roast   beef,   with   the 
aid,   occasionally,  of   various    other  good  things, 
too  tedious  to  mention  ;  for  sweets  keep  up  the 
warmth  of  the  body,  and  what  is  more  needed 
than  warmth   in  sickness  ?    Roast  beef  sustains 
the  strength,  and  all  know  that  debility  charac- 
terizes every   human  malady   in   some   stage   or 
other  of  its  progress.     And  as  for  plum-pudding, 
it  contains  the  elements  of  warmth  in  its  sweet- 
ness, and  of  the  muscle  -  making  power  in   the 
gluten  of  the  flour  out  of  which  it  is  made. 


246  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1152.  It  is  not  the  mixture  of  even  a  dozen 
different  kinds  of  food  in  one  mess  which  makes 
it  unhealthful ;  it  is  the  quantity  which  gives  us 
dyspepsia  and  its  thousand  ills. 

1153.  Carbonic  acid  gas,  which  destroys  life  in 
a  very  short  time,  is  generated  by  breathing  ;  at 
every  expiration  some  of  it  is  thrown  out  into  the 
room  ;  it  is  its  presence  which  gives  the  disagree- 
able odor  observed  on  entering  a  close  apartment 
in   the   morning  in  which  several   persons  have 
slept  all  night.      This  gas,  in  combination  with 
the  moisture  of  the  breath,  is  heavier  than  the 
common  air ;  hence,  its  tendency  is  to  the  surface 
of  the  floor.     Cold  condenses  this  gas  and  makes 
it  heavier  ;  hence,  the  colder  a  room  is,  the  more 
does  this  gas  seek  the  floor  ;  for  these  two  reasons 
persons  should  avoid  sleeping  on  the  floor.     The 
poverty  of  the  humble  poor  sometimes  compels 
them  to  part  with  some  of  their  furniture ;    the 
bedstead  is   supposed   to   be   one  of   the  things 
which  can  be  most  conveniently  spared,  thus  add- 
ing the  risk  of  sickness  to  the  misfortune  of  pov- 
erty. 

1154.  No  sleep  can  be  sound  and  healthful  un- 
less the  sleeper  is  comfortably  warm.     Many  a 
man  who   has   gone  to  bed  in  good  health  has 
awakened  with  a  mortal  malady,  or  one  involving 
life-long  suffering  by  having   been  exposed  to  a 
draught  of  air   on  some  part  of  the  body  while 
asleep,  either  from  an  open  door,  a  hoisted  win- 
dow, a  crevice,  or  a  broken  pane. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  247 

1155.  The  purest  air  contains  four  parts  in  a 
thousand  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  to  that  extent 
it  is  a  healthful  ingredient,  as  far  as  we  know,  but 
beyond  that  it  is  prejudicial. 

1156.  The  Greeks  and  Turks  are  passionately 
fond  of  sour  milk.    The  shepherds  use  rennet  and 
milk  dealers  alum,  to  make  it  sour   the  sooner. 
The  Germans  in  the  West  use  buttermilk  largely ; 
it  acts  on  the  system  like  water-melons,  and  an- 
tagonizes  biliousness,  as  does  the  acid  of   fruits 
and  berries. 

1157.  Three  things  are  indispensable  to  a  health- 
ful bed-chamber :  we  must  have  an  amount  of  bed 
clothing  which  will  keep  us  comfortably  warm  ; 
must  not  be  exposed  to  draughts  of  air,  and  must 
have  a  good  and  safe  ventilation  of  the  apartment, 
which   may  always   be  secured  by  an  open  fire- 
place and  a  board  about  three  inches  broad,  and 
as  long  as  the  breadth  of  the  window,  placed  under 
the  lower  sash  ;  this  makes  such  an  opening  at  the 
joining  of  the  sashes,  as  will  admit  a  draught  of 
air  in  the  direction  of  the  ceiling  where  it  becomes 
diffused  before  it  reaches  the  sleeper. 

1158.  However  good  the  onion  is  as  an  escu- 
lent, it  will  poison  the  person  who  eats  it  after  it 
has  been  exposed  in  a  room  where  there  is  cholera, 
or  some  other  diseases ;  it  blackens  if  poisonous. 

1 159.  As  almost  all  cars  have  foot-rests  in  front 
of  the  passenger,  it  is  better  to  place  the  feet  on 
these  than  on  the  floor,  then  they  will  not  get 
cold  so  soon. 


248  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1 1 60.  One  third  of  our  entire  existence  is  spent 
in  our  chambers  in  the  unconscious  happiness  of 
sleep,  and  as  good  health  is  impossible  without 
the  habitual  breathing  of  a  healthy  atmosphere, 
the  importance   of  inhaling  pure   air   during  so 
large  a  portion  of  our  existence  is  self-evident. 

1161.  If  the  hands  are  very  cold  but  not  frozen, 
paddle  them  in  lukewarm  water  for  a  few  mo- 
ments.    The  same  may  be  said  of  the  feet,  gradu- 
ally adding  warmer  water,  thus  avoiding  the  dan- 
ger of  chilblains,  restoring  the  proper  temperature 
gradually,  and  imparting  to  the  whole  body  a  sur- 
prising degree  of  comfortableness. 

1162.  If  a  person  chances  to  wake  up  in  the 
night  for  two  or  three  times  about  the  same  hour, 
and  cannot  fall  to  sleep  again  very  readily,  it  rap- 
idly becomes  a  habit,  with  the  result  that  if  an 
hour  or  more  is  lost  in  this  way,  it  is  made  up  by 
that  much  longer  sleep  in  the  morning,   or  the 
system  is  deprived  of  its  healthful  amount,  and  in- 
jury will  certainly  result.     The  remedy  is  to  retire 
to  bed  two  or  three  hours  later,  for  two  or  three 
nights  in  succession,  and  yet  be  waked  up  at  the 
desired  time  for  rising.    Meanwhile  avoid  sleeping 
in  the  day  time.     In  this  way  the  time  for  waking 
up  during  the  night  will  be  bridged  over,  and  the 
evil  habit  will  be  promptly  broken  up. 

1163.  The  healthiest  site  for  a  family  dwelling 
is  on  an  elevation  declining  on  every  side,  so  as  to 
convey  the  water  rapidly  away,  or  on  a  sandy  soil 
which  admits  the  same  in  effect. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  249 

1164.  The  best  use  for  a  shawl  or  overcoat  in 
railway  travel  in  cold  weather,  is  to  put  it  on  the 
floor  and  place  the  feet  upon  it  ;  this  keeps  them 
warm  ;  otherwise  the  bare  floor  rapidly  abstracts 
the  heat  from  the  feet,  often  giving  a  troublesome 
cold. 

1165.  The  safest  position  in  a  rail-car  is  about 
the  centre,  on  a  seat  next  the  aisle. 

1 1 66.  The  sunniest  skies  and  the  most  beauti- 
ful, are  not  the  healthiest  localities.    More  persons 
die  in  Italy,  and  sooner,  than  in  any  other  civilized 
country  except  in  Prussia.     It  is  the  condition  of 
the  soil  which  has  the  most  direct   bearing  on 
health  and  disease ;  in  proportion  as  lands  are  flat 
and  wet,  in  such  proportion  does  sickness  prevail. 

1167.  It  is  the  wisdom  of  every  man  to  think 
back   and   ascertain  what   gives   him   a   cold   or 
causes  any  sickness,  and  then  make  it  his  study 
and  aim  to  avoid  these  habitually ;  in  this  way 
almost  any  one  in  the  course  of  a  lifetime  may 
diminish  his  sickness  one  half,  if  not  very  much 
more. 

1168.  Scientific   investigation   has   ascertained 
that  the  onion  possesses  an  amount  of  nutriment, 
healthfulness,  and  stimulant  qualities  not  found  in 
any  other  underground  vegetable.     The  various 
means  used  to  deprive  it  of  its  odor,  also  rob  it 
of    some  of   its  good  qualities.      They  were   so 
highly  prized  by  the  children  of  Israel,  that  even 
in  sight  of  the  promised  land,  they  had  regretful 
longings  after  "  the  leeks  and  onions  of  Egypt." 


25  O  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1169.  If  you  want  to  go  to  sleep  soon,  culti- 
vate pleasant  thoughts  on  lying  down  ;  thoughts 
which  calm  and  soothe  and  give  placidity  to  the 
mind. 

1170.  If  alcohol  is  ever   employed  as  a  med- 
•  icine,  it  should  be  strictly  confined  to  those  cases 

in  which  its  use  is  an  absolute  necessity. 

1171.  If  excessively   warm  and   very   properly 
afraid  of  cooling  off  too  quick,  paddle  the  hands 
in   a    basin   of   warm   water.     Every   time   they 
emerge  from  it  steam  is  generated,  and  this  car- 
ries off  the  heat  so  equally,  that  a  pleasant  degree 
of  coolness  is  very  soon  and  safely  established. 

1 1 72.  After  the  most  careful  investigation,  life 
insurance  companies  have   settled  down   to   the 
conclusion  that  those  who  absolutely  abstain  from 
the  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants  in  every  form,  av- 
erage sixty-four  years  of  age,  while  the  average 
life  of  drunkards  and  moderate  drinkers  is  thirty- 
five  and  a  half. 

1173.  Daily  cold  water  bathing  seems  to  be  a 
very  simple  and  innocent  operation  ;  yet,  unless 
performed  with  judgment  and  discrimination,  it  is 
capable  of   doing  great  harm  ;    only  the   robust 
can  practice  it  with  impunity,  and  they  do  not 
need  it. 

1174.  It  is  a  humanity  sometimes,  and  a  polite- 
ness always,  to  keep  a  visitor  waiting  the  shortest 
time  possible,  for  the  room  may  be  cool  or  damp, 
endangering  a  cold,  or  there  may  be  imperative 
reasons  for  not  losing  a  moment. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2  5 1 

1175.  Warm  water  internally  and  externally,  if 
used  with  judgment  and  skill,  will  alleviate  and 
cure  more  human  maladies  than  half  of  all  the 
drugs  on  the  shelves  of  the  apothecary.     It  cools 
fever,  cures  pain,  allays  nervousness,  diverts  dis- 
ease, softens  the  skin,  antagonizes  chill,  promotes 
perspiration,  and  soothes  the  mind. 

1176.  Physiological   research   has   fully   estab- 
lished the  fact  that  acids  promote  the  separation 
of  the  bile  from  the  blood,  which  is  then  passed 
from  the  system,  thus  preventing  fevers  and  other 
prevailing  diseases  of  summer  and  autumn.     All 
fevers  'are  "  bilious  ; "  that  is,  the  bile  is  in  the 
blood.     Whatever  is  antagonistic  of  fever  is  cool- 
ing.    It  is  a  common  saying  that  fruits  and  ber- 
ries of  every  description  are  "  cooling  ; "  it  is  be- 
cause there  is  an  acidity  in  them  which  aids  in 
separating  the  bile  from  the  blood,  and  thus  puri- 
fies it.     Hence,  the  great  yearning  for  "greens," 
and  lettuce,  and  salads  in  the  early  spring,  they 
being  taken  with  vinegar ;  hence,  also,  the  taste 
for  lemonades,  buttermilk,  and  other  acid  drinks 
on  the  part  of  a  bilious  person,  and  in  attacks  of 
fever. 

1177.  Every    traveller,    especially    in   summer 
time,  should  carry  with  him  a  vial  of  hartshorn, 
called  "  smelling  salts,"  as  it  instantaneously  re- 
moves and  cures  the  pains  caused  by  the  bites 
and  stings  of  all  known  insects  ;  a  substitute,  on 
an  emergency,  is  wood  ashes  and  water,  half  and 
half,  the  product  being  like  hartshorn,  which  is 
an  alkali. 


252  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1178.  To  be  happy,  a  man  must  be  good  and 
keep  himself  busy  in  doing  good. 

1179.  Inability    to    sleep   after    having    been 
waked  up  in  the  night  by  bad  dreams,  or  other 
causes,   is  sometimes  remedied   by  walking   the 
floor  five  or  ten  minutes,  throwing  up  the  night 
dress  to  allow  a  thorough  ventilation  of  the  sur- 
face ;  this  certainly  prevents  the  repetition  of  a 
disagreeable  dream. 

1 1 80.  When  a  simpleton  wants  to  get  well  he 
buys  something  to  "  take  ; "  the  wise  man  gets 
something  to  do  ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  circum- 
stance that  the  latter  has  been  in  a  minofity,  al- 
most indistinguishable  in  all  civilized  countries  : 
that  doctors  are  princes  instead  of  paupers,  and 
live  like  gentlemen  instead  of  breaking  rocks  for 
the  turnpike. 

1181.  No   one   ought  to  be   waked  up  in  the 
morning  as  a  habit ;   it   is    an  interference  with 
nature,   whose   unerring   instinct   apportions   the 
amount  of  sleep  to  the  needs  of  the  body,  nor  will 
allow  habitual  interference  to  be  practiced  with 
impunity,  in  any  case. 

1182.  It  is  kind  to  accompany  a  friend  to  the 
door  on  leaving ;    but  it  is  likely  that  many  last 
words  will  be  spoken  at  the  half-open  door,  caus- 
ing an  exposure  to  a  cold  draught  of  air,  hence 
the  practice  is  not  safe. 

1183.  It  is  never  safe  to  take  a  medicine  simply 
because  it  is  reported  to  have  cured  another  with 
symptoms  apparently  similar  to  your  own. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  253 

1184.  There  would  be  better  health,  less  sick- 
ness, and  longer  life,  if  all  were  to  make  it  a  prac- 
tice never  to  take  a  dose  of  physic  without  the 
advice  of  an  educated  physician. 

1 185.  It  is  a  boorish  act  to  open  a  window  or  a 
door  on  entering  a  public  vehicle,  without  the  as- 
sent of  the  inmates  ;  to  ask  that  assent  is  a  selfish- 
ness. 

1 1 86.  Never  eat  to  "make  it  even,"  or  when 
you  are  not   hungry ;   it   is  that  much  food   lost 
and  wasted,  and  an  imposition  on  nature. 

1187.  In  passing  out  of  a  public  assembly,  it  is 
discourteous  to  stop  to  speak  to  another,  for  the 
one  behind  you  may  have  imperative  reasons  for 
hurrying  on. 

1 1 88.  The  man  who  eats  most  and  works  slow- 
est, can  work  the  hardest  and  the  longest,  hence 
is  the  cheapest  "  hand,"  because  small  eaters  have 
little  strength,  and  they  who  work  fast  seldom  do 
it  well  and  often  have  it  to  do  over  again. 

1 1 89.  Medical  men  perform  more  personal  labor 
without   compensation   than   any  other   class    or 
calling,  for  the  honor  of   the  profession  requires 
them  to  answer  the  call  of  pensioned  or  pauper, 
prince  or  potentate,  all  alike. 

1190.  The  ruts  of  thought,  how  they  warp  and 
weaken  and  wreck  the  intellect  sometimes, — the 
forever  dwelling  on  the  irremediable  past,  on  sharp- 
pointed  memories  or  remorses  for  yesterday's  mis- 
takes or  lost  opportunities.     There  is  no  remedy 
for  a  "  rut  "  equal  to  that  of  a  good  emetic. 


254  If O IV  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1191.  If  you  can't  sleep  at  night  get  up  and  stay 
awake  until  next  night,  and  you  will  sleep  "  like  a 
top."     It  never  fails.     But  next  day  go  to  work 
like  a  man  at  something  encouragingly  remuner- 
ative, out  of  doors,  and  you  will  have  two  good 
nights'  sleep  in  succession.     Repeat  the  dose,  and 
it  will  work  just  as  well  to  the  crack  of  doom. 

1192.  If  persons  must  have  desserts  let  them 
be  taken  half  an  hour  before  meals  in  the  shape  of 
fruits  and  berries,  whose  acids  enter  the  blood  at 
once  and  energize  the  secretions  ;  or  in  the  shape 
of  nuts  or  cheese,  whose  essential  oil  invigorates 
digestion,  or  pure  sugar  candy,  which  hastens  the 
more  complete  solution  of  the  food  by  its  chemical 
combinations  on  reaching  the  stomach. 

1193.  Sweets  are  the  necessities  of  childhood 
and   youth ;    hence   Providence    has   wisely   im- 
planted in  the  young  an  almost  insatiable  desire 
for  sugar.     Without  this  element  largely  mingled 
with  its  food,  the  "healthiest-born  infant  would  die 
in   a   month.     In   vain   would    it    nestle   on   its 
mother's   bosom ;    in   vain    its  exposure    to   the 
warming     sunshine ;     and    in    vain    the    softest 
blankets  and  the  warmest  furs  to  encase  its  body, 
for  the  warmth  which  sustains  human  life  comes 
from  within,  must   be  generated  by  the  internal 
combustion  of  carbonaceous  food,  as  found  in  all 
sweets  and  fat.     It  is  the  most  inveterate  of  all 
prejudices  in  civilized  life  that  "sweets  hurt  chil- 
dren."    On  the  contrary,  they  are  a  prime  neces- 
sity, and  to  deprive  them  of  their  candies,  if  pure, 
is  a  barbarism. 


HEAL  TH  MAXIMS.  2$$ 

1194.  There  is  not  a  straight  line  in  all  nature. 
Man  was  never  intended  to  live  under  an  inflexi- 
ble rule,  to  travel  an  infinite  distance  in  the  trough 
of  a  railroad  bar;    he   is  a  creature  of   amazing 
adaptabilities  :    to  live  astride  a  crater  or  on  the 
perch  of  the  North  Pole,  on  the  equinoctial  line, 
or  the  pinnacle  of  an  iceberg,  —  and  he  is  wisest, 
healthiest,  and  happiest,  who  soonest  adapts  him- 
self to  the  circumstances  of  his  situation. 

1195.  Instinct  is  implanted  to  preserve  life,  and 
is  common  to  plant  and  animal  and  man.     The 
humble  climbing  vine  will  find  its  way,  straight  to 
the  nearest  bean-pole  ;  the  roots  of  flower,  shrub, 
and  tree  delve  down  into  the  hard  earth,  in  search 
of  the  richness  and  moisture  of  the  soil,  taking 
the  shortest  course  to  the  more  favored   spots. 
As  soon  as  the  little  duck  breaks  its  shell,  it  wad- 
dles toward   the  water,  and  sails  away  over  the 
bosom  of  the  tiny  pond  right  gracefully. 

1196.  Brain-workers  require  most  sleep. 

1197.  Plodding  people  are   most   successful  in 
the  long  run,  for  they  make  the  fewest  mistakes, 
and  seldom  have  to  do  their  work  over  again  ;  and 
carrying  out  their  principles,  they  eat  long  and 
largely,  but  masticate  well. 

1198.  Truth  lodged  in  the  mind  of  a  child  is  a 
deposit  for  a  life-time  ;  and  if  that  be  a  practical 
truth  in  reference  to  health,  it  will  be  of  life-long 
value. 

1 199.  The  man  who  eats  by  weight  and  measure 
is  not  likely  to  live  long. 


256  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1200.  The  babe  an  hour  old,  greedily  seizes  the 
fountain  spring  of  its  mother's  milk,  which  con- 
tains in  large  proportions  the  elements  which  sup- 
ply  the   first   necessities    of   infantile    existence. 
This  instinct  is  the  wise,  self-acting,  and  friendly 
guide  to  plant  and  animal  and  man,  his  mentor 
and  preserver  from  the  first  cry  of  infancy  until 
the  fiat  of   the  Maker-  calls  the  patriarch   home 
to  his  bosom  in  heaven.     This  instinct  we  fight 
against  when  we  court  sleep  without  sleepiness  ; 
eat  when  we  are  not  hungry  ;  drink  when  we  are 
not  dry ;  work  when  nature  rebels  against  it,  and 
wear  ourselves  out  with  excessive  fatigue. 

1 20 1.  Every  trade  and  calling  and  profession 
has  its  drudgeries  as  well  as  its  rewards  ;  but  the 
drudgeries   of   an  honest  occupation   bring  with 
them  the  invaluable  blessings  of  good  health  and 
a  quiet  mind. 

1 202.  Hard  work  is  an  acquired  habit,  and  if 
it   is  then  followed  as  a  habit,  it  is  pretty  sure 
to  bring  with  it  a  reasonable  competence,  sound 
sleep,  and  long  life. 

1203.  Poverty  is  often  an  idea  ;  for  a  man  in 
debt,  with  ten  thousand  a  year,  is  not  as  rich  and 
not  as  happy  as  he  who  works  by  the  day,  and 
owes  no  man  a  dollar. 

1204.  When  I  see  a  man  resign  his  seat  to  a 
bonnet  or  gray  hairs,  it  raises  him  at  once  to  the 
character  of  a  gentleman,  even  if  dressed  in  home- 
spun. 

1205.  To  sleep  well  a  man  must  work  hard. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS. 

1206.  The  watch  represents  one  of  the  most 
complicated  mechanisms   of   man.      It   has  been 
made  to  run  a  day,  a  month,  a  year,  without  touch- 
ing or  repair  ;  but  man,  whom  a  breath  has  made 
and  a  breath  can  destroy,  is  the  handiwork  of  the 
Maker  of  all  worlds,  his  is  a  mechanism  which 
builds  itself  up  from  infancy,  and  down  to  old  age 
sustains  its  own  strength,  supplies  its  own  waste, 
and  makes  its  own  repairs  ;  running  on  and  run- 
ning ever,  until  destiny  orders,  "  run  no  more." 

1207.  Persons  who  are  all  the  time  taking  med- 
icine, are  all  the  time  complaining,  are  never  well ; 
and  yet,  with  amazing  pertinacity,  they  swallow 
physic  to  the  last  gasp  of  life. 

1208.  The  cheerful  man  has  the  best  digestion. 

1 209.  Every  chamber  should  have  a  thermome- 
ter in-doors  and  out,  and  we  should  dress,  on  rising, 
accordingly,  for  it  takes  a  sudden  cold  a  day  or 
two  to  get  into  the  house,  and  life  has  often  been 
lost  by  going  out  too  thinly  dressed,  with  no  op- 
portunity to  correct  the  mistake. 

1210.  The  salt  of  the  sea  preserves  it  from  cor- 
ruption ;    the  salt  of   the  human   body   prevents 
decay  ;  and  it  is  the  moral  salt  —  the  preserva- 
tive influences  of  the  Christian  religion  —  which 
upholds    social    existence,    sustains    all    civilized 
governments,  and  prevents  the  extinction  of  na- 
tionalities, for  five  righteous  would  have  saved  a 
city.     And  the  principles   of  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  the  Almighty  are  the  same  throughout 
the  ages. 

17 


258  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1211.  But  for  religion  the  world  would  be  with- 
out an  inhabitant. 

1 2 12.  The  enemies  of  Bible  religion  are  the  vi- 
pers of  society.     Their  influences  tend  to  poison, 
corrupt,  and  destroy ;  and  wherever  they  habitate 
together,  they  live  more  and  more  in  unrestraint, 
until  crime  and  beastliness,  in  their  most  degrad- 
ing, disgusting,  and  horrid  forms,  reign  rampant : 
society  has  no  guarantees,  decency  no  protection, 
law  no  power,  and  virtue  is  extinct. 

1213.  Early  rising  is  a  crime  against  nature, 
unless  it  is  preceded  by  an  early  retiring. 

1214.  The  first  step  toward  insanity  is  a  grow- 
ing and  continued  inability  to  sleep. 

1215.  If  you  are  working  or  exercising  for  your 
health,  stop  before  you  are  much  tired,  before  you 
are  "fagged  out." 

1216.  Never  eat  when  you  are  not  hungry,  nor 
drink  when  you  are  not  thirsty  ;   it  imposes  on 
nature. 

1217.  Never  resist  a  call  of  nature  for  a  mo- 
ment ;    habitual  constipation   is   always   thus  in- 
duced. 

1218.  The  hard  worker  should  eat  thrice  a  day, 
at  not  less  than  five  hours'  interval. 

1219.  Sedentary  persons,   after   fifty,  can    do 
very  well  with   two   meals   a-day ;    dyspepsia  is 
thus  cured  sometimes. 

1 220.  It  is  better  to  exercise  an  hour  in  the 
forenoon,  as  a  means  of  health,  and  an  hour  in 
the  afternoon,  than  two  hours  at  once. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2 59 

1221.  If  exercise  is  carried  to  actual  fatigue,  it 
does  more  harm  than  good. 

1222.  Drink  but  a  small  amount  of  liquids  at 
meals,  and  these  should  be  warm  ;  if  cold  or  large 
in  quantity,  dyspepsia  follows. 

1223.  Presentiments  are  the  mere  coincidences 
of  events  with  the  previous  multitudinous  vagaries 
of  the  brain.     At  the  advent  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation,  the   days   of    miracle   and   revelation 
ceased. 

1224.  Go  to  bed  at  a  regular  hour;  leave  it  as 
soon  as  you  wake  up,  and  do  not  sleep  a  moment 
in  the  day  time ;  this  will  give  you  all  the  sleep 
which  your  system  requires,  and  it  will  be  sound 
and  connected  within  a  week. 

1225.  Cultivate  a  generous  and  an  accommo- 
dating disposition. 

1226.  Let  your  appetite  always  come  uninvited, 
that  is,  never  take  anything  to  give  an  appetite. 

1227.  The  God  of  nature  and  of  grace  is  one 
and  the  same  embodiment  of  benevolence,  wis- 
dom, and  love  ;  for 

"  We  are  the  creatures  of  his  power," 

his  children  and  his  heirs  ;  hence  the  operations 
and  the  works  of  nature  and  of  grace  never  war 
against  each  other,  but  act  in  harmony  to  the  one 
great  end,  —  the  elevation  and  happiness  of  the 
human  family :  the  laws  of  grace  purifying  the 
heart ;  the  laws  of  nature,  understood  and  prac- 
ticed, preserving  the  body. 


26O  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1228.  Sickness  is  the  wise  and  loving  discipline 
of  life. 

1229.  The   Bible  is  a  balm  in   every  human 
sickness  if  its  principles   are  kept  constantly  in 
view  as  a  matter  of  firm,  religious  faith  ;  then  the 
sorrows  of  life,  its  disappointments  and  its  tears, 
will  lose  half  of  their  bitterness,  and   the   other 
half  would  soon  be  forgotten  in  the   contempla- 
tion of  the  great  truth,  that  "  God  is  love." 

1230.  One  part  of  oxide  of  iron  and  six  parts  of 
carbonate  of  magnesia,  if  mixed,  and,  with  a  rag 
moistened   with   water    or    alcohol,   then   rubbed 
until  nearly  dry  on  silver  and  gold,  will  remove 
from  them  all  their  tarnish,  and  will  give  to  cop- 
per and  steel,  and  even  iron,  a  beauty  of  polish 
which   was  never  natural    to   them.     Thus  it  is 
that  the  humblest  things  have  their  uses,  and  so 
also  can  the  humblest  talents  and  the  most  in- 
ferior capacities  be  employed  to  useful  purposes 
in  society. 

1231.  Said  an  eminent  English  jurist:  "From 
eight   to  sixteen  is  the  time  during  which   the 
character  is  formed  of  nine  tenths  of  all  the  crim- 
inals who  come  before  me."     Those  parents  are 
wisest   who   make   a   special    and    conscientious 
effort  to  weave  a  web  around  their  children  at  that 
critical  age,  which  shall  keep  them  at  home  and 
win  them  from  the  street,  by  affectionate  ways, 
kindly  treatment,  and  warming  sympathies  ;    by 
intelligent  forbearances,  by  generous  allowances, 
and  a  cheerful,  loving  demeanor. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  26 1 

1232.  As  good  sound  sleep  is  essential  to  good 
health  and  bodily  vigor,  and  as  no  one  can  sleep 
soundly  with  a  hundred  bedfellow  bugs  sucking 
out  his  blood,  it  may  be  well  to  know  that  if  a 
room  is  closed,  every  crack,  crevice,  and  keyhole, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  brimstone  is  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  room  in  an   earthen  vessel 
for  fumigation,  in  six  hours  there  will  not  be  a 
living  thing  left ;  but  first  remove  colored  articles. 

1233.  The  sleep  we  require  during  the  night, 
and  all  that  nature  will  take,  is  exactly  propor- 
tioned to  the  strength  expended  during  the  day. 

1234.  Ice  is  delicious  to  the  sick  in  summer. 
If  kept  in  one  lump  in  a  pitcher  which  is  securely 
enveloped  with  two  feather  pillows,  it  will  last  for 
a  day  or  two. 

1235.  When  you  are  at  a  hotel  and  retire  for 
the  night,  shut  your  door  noiselessly,  with  your 
hand  on  the  knob,  and  walk  about  the  floor  in 
your  stocking  feet,  as  in  the  adjoining  room,  or 
just  below  you,  some  invalid  may  be  just  falling 
into  a  refreshing  sleep  which  is  to  turn  the  scale 
between  recovery  and  death  ;  at  the  very  least, 
you  owe  it  to  any  occupant  to  make  as  little  noise 
as  possible. 

1236.  We  can  better  and  more  safely  do  with- 
out eating  for  a  week  than  have  no  sleep  for  three 
or  four  days. 

1237.  It  is  early  to  bed,  quite  as  much  as  early 
to  rise,  which  makes  a  man  healthy  and  wealthy 
and  wise. 


262  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1238.  Many  reach  mature  age  in  the  enjoyment 
of  vigorous  health  ;  for  half  a  life-time  they 
scarcely  have  known  what  pain  is  ;  the  physician 
has  not  been  called  to  their  dwellings,  for  all  this 
time  they  have  eaten  heartily,  slept  soundly,  and 
have  been  cozily  housed.  During  the  bleak  and 
dreary  winter  time  they  have  been  protected  from 
the  cold  and  storm,  and  their  summers  have  been 
spent  at  the  sea-side  or  the  springs,  their  whole 
lives  seem  to  have  been  an  uninterrupted  joy, 
and  no  doubt  they  have  deserved  it.  Those  whose 
lives  have  been  the  reverse  of  all  this  may  take  it 
for  granted  that  it  is  their  own  fault,  or  that  it  has 
been  the  ordering  of  a  wise  and  loving  Providence, 
as  a  means  of  making  sure  for  us  better  things  in 
the  unending  future,  knowing  that  we  could  not 
have  borne  prosperity.  Thrice  happy  is  the  man 
who,  in  humility,  love,  and  trustingness,  thus  reads 
the  providence  of  the  Almighty.  But  sooner  or 
later,  when  a  man  returns  home  at  night  or 
wakes  up  in  the  morning  finding  himself  not  so 
well  as  usual,  he  feels  tired  and  sad.  The  tea- 
table  is  as  tidy  as  before.  The  children  are  as 
gladsome  and  as  blithe  as  usual.  The  fire  on  the 
hearth  burns  as  brightly  as  ever,  but  all  these  fail 
to  wake  up  the  echoes  of  a  loving  joyousness  as  of 
old.  He  retires  to  his  bed  with  unspoken  words. 
Sleep  comes  not,  but  instead  there  are  restless 
tossings  and  the  distant  grumblings  of  approach- 
ing pains  ;  and  anon,  the  doctor  is  at  the  bed-side. 
We  look  in  his  face,  but  there  is  no  smile  of 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  26$ 

confidence  and  hope  there;  he  makes  a  closer 
examination,  but  gives  out  no  cheering  word,  and 
saying  nothing,  good  or  bad,  makes  an  unsolicited 
promise  to  return  in  an  hour.  This  is  ominous. 
We  begin  to  feel  our  firm  foundations  fail  beneath 
us.  The  world,  its  pleasures,  its  appetites,  its  am- 
bition, and  its  material  interests,  fade  away  from 
our  vision.  The  system  becomes  more  oppressed 
oy  disease,  more  racked  with  pain,  and  withal  still 
sinking,  sinking,  sinking,  we  feel  our  own  helpless- 
ness as  we  never  felt  it  before,  and  to  the  Infinite 
One  we  stretch  our  withered  arms  for  aid,  and 
raise  our  feeble  voice  for  succor,  and  He  whose 
ear  is  ever  open,  and  whose  kind  eye  never  sleeps, 
beckons  us  away  to  the  land  of  the  blessed. 

1239.  In  entering  any  apartment  leave  the  door 
as  you  found  it. 

1 240.  They  are  wisest  and  will  live  longest  who 
habitually  get  all  the  sleep  that  nature  will  take. 

1241.  Those  who  cannot  make  themselves  com- 
fortable under  ordinary  circumstances  would  not 
be  so  under  any  other. 

1242.  Whatever  of  an  undesirable  disposition  a 
man  has  to-day,  without  money,  he  will  have  to- 
morrow, however  rich,  to  an  exaggerated  extent, 
unless  the  heart  be  changed.     The  miser  will  be- 
come more  miserly  ;  the  drunkard  more  drunken  ; 
the  debauchee  more  debauched ;  the  fretful  still 
more  complaining  ;  hence  the  striking  wisdom  of 
the    Scripture  injunction  that  all  our  ambitions 
should  begin  with  this  :    "  Seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness." 


264  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1243.  Persons  are  constantly  met  who,  in  their 
families,  are  cross,  ill-natured,  dissatisfied,  finding 
fault  with  everybody  and  everything,  whose  first 
greeting   in  the  breakfast  room  is  a  complaint, 
whose  conversation  seldom  fails  to  end  in  a  long 
enumeration    of  difficulties   and    hardships,   and 
whose  last  word  at  night  is  an  angry  growl,  and 
we  feel  at  a  loss  whether  to  pity  or  to  despise. 

1244.  A  man  who  has  a  canker  eating  out  his 
heart,  will  carry  it  with  him  wherever  he  goes,  if 
it  be  remorse  for  crime  or  mortification  for  mean- 
ness ;  although  worth  millions,  it  will  go  with  his 
gold  and  rust  out  all  its  brightness. 

1245.  Bodily  health  and  mental  comfort  have 
on  one  another  very  powerful  reactions.     Culti- 
vate health  and  a  good  heart,  for  with  these  you 
may  be  comfortable  without  a  farthing ;  without 
them,  never,  although  you  may  possess  millions. 

1246.  Whatever  a  man  is   to-day  with  a  last 
dollar,  he  will  be  to-morrow,  radically,  essentially, 
with  a  million. 

1247.  Many  have  a  great  horror  of  going  out 
of  doors  for  fear  of  taking  cold,  when  the  fact  is, 
the  very  best  way  of  fortifying  the  system  against 
taking  cold,  is  to  be  out  every  day,  rain  or  shine. 

1 248.  If  persons  are  kept  in  the  house  because 
the  weather  is  a  little  too  hot  or  cold,  a  little  too 
dusty,  or  windy,  or  damp,  they  will  soon  find  them- 
selves   confined   to   their   own   apartments   from 
one  month's  end  to  another,  confirmed  invalids. 

1249.  A  man  is  what  his  wife  makes  him. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  26$ 

1250.  It  is  said  of  Queen  Victoria,  the  most 
exemplary  potentate  of  the  century,  that  when  at 
the   palace,  she   rides   every  day  ;  when   in   the 
country,  she  every  day  walks,  in  all  weathers  ;  if 
it  rains,  she  takes  an  umbrella,  and  lets  it  rain  ; 
if  muddy,  she  wears  thick-soled  shoes. 

1251.  The  worse  the  weather,  the  more  need 
that  sedentary  persons  should  go  out  of  doors  for 
an  hour  or  two  ;  first,  because  whatever  the  out- 
door air  may  be,  the  in-door  air  is  but  the  out- 
door air  contaminated  with  the  fumes  of  cookery 
and  a  multitude  of  other  things.      Second,  no  one 
thinks  of  eating  less  to-day  because  the  weather 
is  bad  ;  but  if  we  eat  as  much  to-day,  when  we 
take  no  exercise,  as  we  did  yesterday  when  we 
took  a  great  deal,  there  must  be  an  imperfect  di- 
gestion of  food  causing  symptoms,  more  or  less, 
of  fullness,  oppression,  headache,  weariness,  ner- 
vousness, and  a  feeling  of  discomfort,  generally. 

1252.  A  good  wife  is  the  greatest  earthly  bless- 
ing. 

1253.  It  is  the  mother  who  moulds  the  charac- 
ter, and  fixes  the  destiny  of  the  child. 

1254.  Make  marriage  a  matter  of  moral  judg- 
ment.   . 

1255.  Marry  in  your  own  religion. 

1256.  Marry  into  a  different  blood  and  temper- 
ament from  your  own. 

1257.  Marry  into  a  family  which  you  have  long 
known. 

1258.  Never  both  be  angry  at  once. 


266  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1259.  Never  talk  at  one  another,  either  alone  or 
in  company. 

1260.  Never  speak  loud  to  one  another  unless 
the  house  is  on  fire. 

1261.  Never  reflect  on  a  past  action  which  was 
done  with  a  good  motive  and  with  the  best  judg- 
ment at  the  time. 

1262.  Let  each  strive  to  yield  oftenest  to  the 
wishes  of  the  other. 

1263.  Let  self-abnegation  be  the  habit  of  each. 

1264.  The  very  nearest  approach  to  domestic 
felicity  is  in  the  mutual  cultivation  of  unselfish- 
ness. 

1265.  Never  find  fault  until  it  is  perfectly  cer- 
tain that  a  fault  has  been  committed. 

1266.  Let  a  kiss  be  the  prelude  of  a  rebuke. 

1267.  If  you  must  criticise  let  it  be  done  lov- 
ingly. 

1268.  Never  taunt  with  a  past  mistake. 

1269.  Neglect  the  whole  world  beside,  rather 
than  one  another. 

1270.  Never  allow  a  request  to  be  repeated. 

1271.  "I  forgot,"  is  never  an  acceptable  excuse. 

1272.  Never  make  a  remark  at  the  expense  of 
the  other. 

1273.  They  who  marry  for  physical  character- 
istics or  external  considerations,  will  fail  of  hap- 
piness. 

1274.  They  are  the  safest  who  marry  from  the 
standpoint  of  sentiment  rather  than  of   feeling, 
passion,  or  mere  love. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  267 

1275.  Always   leave  home  with  loving  words, 
for  they  may  be  the  last. 

1276.  Do  not  herald  the  sacrifices  you  make  to 
each  other's  tastes,  habits,  or  preferences. 

1 277.  They  who  marry  for  traits  of  mind  and 
heart  will  seldom  fail  of  perennial  springs  of  do- 
mestic enjoyment. 

1278.  Let  all  your  mutual  accommodations  be 
spontaneous,  whole-souled,  and  free  as  air. 

1279.  A  hesitating,  tardy,  or  grum  yielding  to 
the  wishes  of  the  other,  always  grates  upon  a  lov- 
ing heart. 

1280.  If  one  is  angry,  let  the  other  part  the 
lips  only  for  a  kiss. 

1281.  Give  your  warmest  sympathies  for  each 
other's  trials. 

1282.  The  beautiful  in  heart,  is  a  million  times 
of  more  avail  in  securing  domestic  happiness,  than 
the  beautiful  in  person. 

1283.  Never  deceive,  for  the  heart  once  misled 
can  never  trust  wholly  again. 

1284.  Consult   one  another   in  all  that  comes 
within  the  experience,  observation,  or  sphere  of 
the  other. 

1285.  Whether  present  or  absent,  alone  or  in 
company,   speak   up  for   one   another,   cordially, 
earnestly,  lovingly. 

1286.  Never  question  the  integrity,  the  truth- 
fulness, or  the  religiousness  of  one  another. 

1287.  Encourage  one   another  in   all   the   de- 
pressing  circumstances   in   which    you   may   be 
placed. 


268  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1288.  By  all  that  can  actuate  a  good  citizen  ; 
by  all   that  can  meet  the  heart  of  pity  ;  by  all 
that  can  move  a  parent's  bosom  ;  by  every  claim 
of  a  common  humanity ;  see  to  it  that  at  least 
one   party   to   a  marriage   shall   possess    strong, 
robust,  vigorous  health  of  body  and  brain. 

1289.  Many  a  time  husband  and  wife,  like  other 
children,  get  into  a  furious  quarrel,  when  a  chance 
and  chatty  visitor  coming  in  disperses  the  cloud 
and  they  forget  all  about  it,  hence  frequent  social, 
friendly  calls  among  neighbors  is  humanizing  and 
healthful. 

1290.  It  is  not  so  much  the  late  dinner  that  is 
pernicious  as   the   quantity,  and   even   if   it  has 
been  a  hearty  one,  but  good,  it  would   leave  no 
hurt  behind  if  the  next  four  or  five  hours  were 
spent   in  joyousness  with  neighbors,  friends,  or 
family,  the  last  always  the  happiest  and  the  best. 

129*1.  The  soft,  low  voice  of  a  woman  is  the 
index  of  cultivation  and  refinement. 

1292.  An  intense  hunger  at  other  times  than 
the  regular  meals,  especially  *if  just  before,  and 
coming  on  daily,  is  proof  of  a  dyspeptic  condition 
of  the  stomach,  and  should  be  firmly  resisted. 

1 293.  To  have  the  comforts  of  life  assured  with- 
out a  peradventure,  so  as  to  relieve  the  mind  from 
the  care  of  providing  daily  bread,  and  to  be  free 
from  all  anxiety  for  future  sustenance,  is  an  im- 
portant element  in  securing  length  of  days  ;  with 
these  guarantees   even  the  frail  and  feeble  live 
long. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  269 

1294.  A  man  will  no  more  sleep  well  if  he  goes 
to  bed  very  hungry,  than  if  he  retired  on  an  ex- 
cessive meal :  in  the  former  case  it  would  be  better 
to  eat  a  few  mouthfuls. 

1295.  "Let  us   have   peace,"  was   the  closing 
sentence  of  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  age  in  his 
inaugural   address   as    President    of    the   United 
States  ;   recommending   also   that  all  differences 
between  nations  should  be  settled  by  arbitration. 
Twenty-four  times  has  the  United  States  done  this 
since  1794,  introducing  also  in  all  treaties  to  be 
made,  if  possible,  a  clause  stipulating  that  neither 
party  shall  declare  war  against  the  other  without 
first  submitting  to  a  court  of  arbitration.     If  all 
European  nations  should  adopt  this  principle,  six 
million  soldiers  who  now  idle  away  their  time  in 
barracks  would  be  put  to  useful  and  remunerative 
labor  with  the  result  of  adding  many  millions  to 
the  national  wealth  every  year,  relieving  women 
from  the  necessity  of  working  in  the  fields,  and 
giving  them  that   time  and    opportunity  for   the 
care  and  training  of  their  children,  which  would 
elevate  and  change  for  the  better  in  many  other 
ways,  the  whole  framework  of  society,  and  then 
would  the  nations  not  learn  war  any  more. 

1296.  The  "self-made  man"  is  a  term  applied 
to  one  who   by  force  of  character  and   unaided 
has  risen  to  prominence  in  his  calling,  when  the 
fact  is  every  man  is  what  he  makes  himself;  the 
misfortune  is  that  so  many  are  of  no  account  after 
they  are  made. 


270  HOW  TO  LIFE  LONG. 

1 297.  A  man  who  is  well  ought  to  be  happy ; 
but  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  good  to  be  happy,  al- 
though they  are  very  far  from  being  well. 

1 298.  The  spare  bed  of  the  guest-chamber  should 
never  be  made  until  within  an  hour  or  two  of  using, 
each  covering  having  been  exposed  to  the  sun  or 
to  the  kitchen  fire,  for  bed-clothing  will  gather 
dampness.     From  this  cause  Lord  Bacon  died. 

1299.  A  man  cut  his  throat,  but  after  losing  a 
quart   of   blood,  besought  his  wife  in    the   most 
piteous  terms  to  send  for  the  doctor  ;  the  brain 
had  been  relieved  of  the  pressure  which  had  oc- 
casioned the  despondency  and  suicidal  insanity, 
and  the  mind  resumed  its  healthful  functions.    In 
lesser  forms  of  depression  of  spirits  immediate  re- 
lief would  follow  an  active  emetic  of  a  teaspoonful 
each  of  salt  and  ground  mustard,  stirred  quickly 
in  half  a  glass  of  water,  and  drank  down ;  the 
effort  and  strain  of  vomiting  drive  the  blood  to 
the  extremities  and  to  the  surface  of  the  body,  and 
thus  relieve  the  brain. 

1 300.  An  impressive  fact  to  the  young  has  come 
out  in  the  great  trial  of  the  century :  the  number 
of   persons  — and  some  of  them  of  considerable 
prominence  —  who  on  the  witness  stand  have  been 
compelled  to  make  the  most   humiliating  state- 
ments in  reference  to  transactions  in  earlier  life, 
showing  in  the  strongest  light  possible,  the  wis- 
dom, the   importance,  and   moral   beauty  of  the 
Scripture   injunction,   "  Make   straight  paths  for 
your  feet,"  in  youth. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2/1 

1301.  In  the  history  of  those  who  have  reached 
adult  life,  there  are  times  in  which  it  would  seem 
as  if  the  heart  were  almost  ready  to  break  with 
apprehensions  which  cannot  be  even  intimated  to 
others :   with  reverses  of  fortune  which  destroy 
ambition  ;  courage,  hope,  endurance,  all  gone  ;  the 
brightest  sky  is  ink ;  and  cheery  faces  and  laugh- 
ing lips  and  sparkling  eyes,  by  their  contrast,  are 
but  harrows  dragging  through  the  heart  strings  ; 
or  it  may  be  that  remorseless  death  has  struck  its 
fiercest  blow  and  left  us  standing  alone,  the  last 
tie  severed,  the  last  link  broken,  and  we  want  to 
die,  but  cannot.    No  tear  comes  to  the  relief  of  the 
burning  eye-ball ;  no  human  being  utters  a  sym- 
pathizing word ;    the  whole  world  is  an  iceberg, 
and  the  best  friend  on  the  planet  would  be  a  bot- 
tomless  ocean   to   engulf    us   from  mortal  sight 
forever.     But  cheer"  up,  poor  soul,  time  soothes  all 
sorrows  ;  the  sun  will  shine  to-morrow,  and  it  will 
all  come  right  in  the  morning. 

1302.  As  the  greatest  number  of  sweet-scented 
flowers  are  'white,  so  in  the  moral  world  do  sweet- 
ness and  purity  go  together,  and  happy  are  they 
who  in  early  life  cultivate  the  ambition  to  build  up 
and  maintain  a  character   "not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing." 

1303.  A  full  cold-water  bath  should  be  taken 
either  before  breakfast  or  not  within  two  or  three 
hours  after  a  regular  meal,  never  in  a  tired  or 
heated  condition,  nor  immediately  after  drinking 
cold  water. 


272  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1304.  A  most  refreshing  exhibition  of  primitive 
frankness  of  character,  is  found  in  the  case  of 
a  colored  man,  who  had  slipped  off  from  the 
army  near  Fort  Donelson,  and  making  his  way 
on  board  a  passing  steamboat,  was  found  beside 
the  smoke-stack,  sitting  on  a  bundle  of  dilapi- 
dated home-spun,  trying  to  warm  himself. 

"  Were  you  in  the  fight  ?  " 

"  I  had  a  little  taste  of  it,  sa." 

"  Stood  your  ground,  did  you  ? " 

"  No,  sa,  I  runs." 

"  Run  at  the  first  fire,  did  you  ? " 

"  Yes,  sa,  an'  would  have  run  soona,  had  I 
know'd  it  was  cominV 

"Why,  that  wasn't  very  creditable  to  your 
courage." 

"  Dat  is  n't  in  my  line,  sa ;  cookin's  my  perfes- 
shun." 

"  Well !  but  have  you  no  regard  for  your  rep- 
utation ? " 

"  Reputation's  nufrm  to  me  by  de  side  of  life." 

"Do  you  consider  your  life  worth  more  than 
other  people's  ? " 

"  It 's  wuff  more  to  me,  sa." 

"  Then  you  must  value  it  very  highly  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sa,  I  does  ;  more  dan  all  dis  world,  more 
dan  a  million  dollars,  sa  ;  for  what  would  that  be 
wuth  to  a  man  wid  de  bref  out  of  him  ?  Self- 
preserbashun  is  the  first  law  wid  me." 

"  But  why  should  you  act  upon  a  different  rule 
from  other  men  ?  " 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2?$ 

"  'Cause,  sa,  difF rent  men  sets  diff' rent  value 
upon  derselves  ;  my  life  is  not  in  de  market." 

"  But  if  you  lost  it,  you  would  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  you  died  for  your  coun- 
try." 

"  What  satisfaction  would  dat  be  to  me,  when 
der  power  of  feelin'  was  gone  ?  " 

"  Then  patriotism  and  honor  are  nothing  to 
you  ?  '•' 

"  Nuffin'  whatever,  sa." 

"  If  all  our  soldiers  were  like  you,  our  Gov- 
ernment might  have  been  broken  up  without 
resistance." 

"Yes,  sa;  der  would  have  been  no  help  for  it. 
I  wouldn't  put  my  life  in  de  scales  'gainst  any 
gubernment  dat  ever  existed,  for  no  gubernment 
could  replace  de  loss  to  me." 

"  Da  you  think  any  of  your  company  would 
have  missed  you,  if  you  had  been  killed  ?  " 

"  Maybe  not,  sa,  but  I  'd  a  missed  myself,  and 
dat  was  de  pint  wid  me." 

"  Then  patriotism  and  honor  are  nothing  to 
you?" 

"  Nuffin  whatever  sa ;  I  consider  them  as  among 
de  vanities." 

1305.  Charcoal  decolorizes  and  deodorizes  de- 
caying matters  and  offensive  gases  ;  permanganate 
of  potash  and  ozone  oxidize,  burn  up  dead  or- 
ganic matter, 'but  do  not  destroy  living  animal- 
cules, germs,  vibriones,  and  the  like,  which  are  best 
exterminated  by  carbolic  acid  or  cresylic  acid. 
18 


2/4  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1306.  In  taking  their  summer  recreations,  those 
who  have  good  health  can  safely  patronize  almost 
any  place  of  public  resort,  but  those  who  are  in- 
firm or  invalids  should  wisely  discriminate  :  persons 
troubled  with  any  disease  of  the  throat  and  lungs, 
except  asthma,  should  avoid  all  sea-shore  or  lake 
side  or  prairie  localities,  for  the  damp  air  and  the 
cold  chilling  winds  after  rains  never  fail  to  aggra- 
vate the  maladies  ;  asthma  is  an  exception,  because 
in  some  persons  it  is  ameliorated  by  a  damp  at- 
mosphere, and  in  others  by  a  dry  location  ;  some 
are  relieved  by  going  to  the  country,  others  by 
moving  into  the  city,  each  must  be  a  law  unto 
himself;  warm,  flat  localities  debilitate  consump- 
tives, while  the  purer,  cooler  air  of  the  mountains 
give  tone  and  strength  to  the  system.     As  a  gen- 
eral rule  invalids  are  improved  by  mountain  air, 
and  where  there  are  rapid,  clear  water  streams. 

1307.  The  language  of  a  man  is  a  reasonably 
good  index  of  his  character  :  the  trifler  abounds 
in  slang   words   and   slang   phrases ;   the  vulgar 
and   low-bred   use    most  glibly   the   depreciative 
adjective  ;   they  revel   in   the   expletives   of   liar, 
scoundrel,  swindler  ;  the  educated,  the  cultivated, 
and    the    refined,   speak   softly,    quietly,    gently, 
every   word    is    uttered    with    composure,    even 
under  circumstances  of  aggravation ;  if  annoyed, 
their  severest  reproof  is  expressive  silence ;  and 
always  they  maintain  their  self-respect. 

1308.  Gutta-percha    pen-holders    are   said    to 
prevent  writer's  cramp. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  2?$ 

1309.  Anodynes,  narcotics,  cough  mixtures,  and 
lozenges  are  practically  useless,  and  but  too  often 
increase  the  debility  and  hasten  the   fatal   end. 
The  best  method  of  easing  cough  is  to  resist  it 
with  all  the  force  of  will  possible,  until  the  accu- 
mulation of  phlegm  becomes  greater ;  then  there 
is  something  to  cough  against,  and  it  comes  up 
very  much  easier,  and  with    half  the  coughing. 
A  great  deal  of  hacking,  and  hemming,  and  cough- 
ing, in  invalids,  is  nervous,  purely  nervous,  or  from 
the  force  of  habit,  as  is  shown  by  the  frequency 
when  thinking  about  it,  and  the  comparative  rarity 
when  the  person  is  so  much  engaged  that  there  is 
no  time  to  think  about  it,  and  the  attention  is  com- 
pelled in  another  direction. 

1310.  If  you  throw  a  piece  of  paper,  or  a  stick 
on  the  floor,  or  toss  it  in  some  corner,  some  one 
else  has  to  pick  it  up.     No  one  has  a  right  to  im- 
pose useless  labor  on  another,  and  yet,  thousands 
of  men  do  it   every  day,   on   hard-working   tidy 
wives,  by  stalking  into  the  house  without  wiping 
their  feet  on  the  door-mat. 

1311.  A  stream  of  cold  water  poured  continu- 
ously on  a  sting,  will   remove  pain,  and  cure   it 
in  a  short  time ;  then  keep  it  cool  for  a  day  or 
two. 

1312.  More  by  myriads  die  of  under-work  than 
over-work. 

1313.  A  child  will  do  more  to  maintain  a  rep- 
utation, whether  for  vice  or  virtue,  than  to  earn 
it,  so  great  is  the  natural  inherent  love  for  dis- 
tinction. 


2/6  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1314.  A  public  speaker  will   be   better  heard 
and  be  less  fatigued,  if  he  enunciates  deliberately, 
and   gives   each  word    and   syllable   a   clear   cut 
sound,  than  if   he  speaks  more  rapidly  and  in  a 
louder  voice. 

1315.  Lean  people  endure  much  and  live  long  ; 
it  is  the   ruddy,  and   the  florid,  and   fleshy  who 
die  early  and  with  short  warning. 

1316.  In  all  sudden  alarms  in  public  places,  time 
is  never  lost  by  standing  perfectly  still  and  quiet, 
and  taking  a  deliberate  survey  of  the  situation. 

1317.  In  a  French  theatre,  the  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere  increased  from  fifty  per  cent.,  which  is 
healthful,  to  eighty  per  cent.,  by  the  end  of  the 
play  ;  the   temperature   increased  fifty  per  cent., 
while  the  carbonic  acid  in  the  atmosphere  was  six 
times  greater   at   the  close  of   the   performance 
than  was  natural,  being  four  and  three  tenths  per 
thousand.    This  shows  the  necessity  of  compelling 
out-door  air  into  crowded  public  buildings  by  ma- 
chinery, this  is  done  in  the  British  House  of  Par- 
liament, and    in   the  Fifth  Avenue   Presbyterian 
Church,  New  York,  —  the  only  house  of  worship 
thus  arranged  in  America,  —  and  is  well  worthy 
of  imitation. 

1318.  Deposition  of  stone  or  gravel  in  the  gall 
or  urinary  bladder  or  passages,  may  be  arrested 
and  the  stones  softened  or  melted  away  by  drink- 
ing no  other  liquid  but  milk,'  and  using  no  bread 
or  water  but  rice,  as  bread  and  water  contain  lime 
largely ;  rice,  milk,  meats,  fruits,  and  berries  none. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  277 

1319.  Perhaps  the  safest  and  most  instantane- 
ous emetic  known,  is  a  teaspoonful  each  of  salt 
and  ground  mustard  stirred  quickly  in  half  a  glass 
of  water,  and  swallowed  promptly  ;  almost  as  in- 
stantly is  any  poison  taken  into  the  stomach  vom- 
ited up. 

1320.  Soft  water,  whether  rain  or  other   kind, 
not   containing  any  form  of  lime,  becomes    poi- 
sonous in  passing  through  leaden  pipes  ;  if  the 
water  contains  lime  a  coating  is  soon  formed  on 
the  inner  side  of   the  pipe  which  is   impervious, 
and  becomes  a  perfect  protection  against  the  lead 
being  acted  upon  by  the  water ;  iron  pipes  are 
perfectly  safe,  .they  clog  up  with  rust,  and  may  be 
eaten   through  by  it,  but   then   they  can   be  re- 
newed ;  pipes  made- of  any  two  metals  immersed 
in  water  are  always  poisonous,  making  a  galvanic 
or  voltaic  battery  through   chemical   decomposi- 
tion ;  metal  pipe  may  be   lined  with   tin,  but   if 
there  is  a   break  in  the  coating,  by  violence,  or 
imperfection,  or  any  other  cause,  there  is  a  poi- 
sonous decomposition,  and  the  risk  is  too  great, 
for  a  whole  family  might  be  destroyed  in  a  week 
after  the  accident  which  made  the  break.     Block 
tin  pipes,  earthenware,  glazed  or  glass  or  wooden 
pipes  are  always  safe. 

1321.  There  are  240  volumes  of  carbonic  acid  in 
10,000  volumes  of  air  at  a  height  of  2,000  feet,  and 
three  volumes  at  3,000  feet,  showing  that  the  air 
on  the  earth  is   better  adapted  to  the  uses  and 
needs  of  man,  than  that  above. 


278  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1322.  Ashes  and  iron  feed  the  flowers  and  add 
to  the  brilliancy  of  their  hues  ;  even  the  white  are 
made  whiter.     Man  also  feeds  on  iron,  which  has 
been  held  to  enrich  the  blood  and  give  redness  to 
the  cheek ;  there  seems  to  be  no  waste  in  nature, 
even  the  old  rusty  nail  can  be  utilized,  and  the 
sweepings  of  the  fire-place  beautify  the  rose. 

1323.  Drunkenness  is  such  an  insufferable  des- 
potism, that  not  more  than  one  in  a  million  has 
force  of  character  enough  to  break  the  fetters  and 
live  thereafter  a  free  man.     The  father  of  the  dis- 
tinguished divine,  Newman    Hall,  cured    himself 
of    habitual   drunkenness,    by   taking   night   and 
morning,  for  several  months,  the  following  prep- 
aration :  five  grains  of  sulphate  of  iron  (copperas), 
ten  grains  of  magnesia,  eleven  grains  of  pepper- 
mint water,  spirits  of  nutmeg  one  dram  ;  it  pre- 
vents that  physical  and  moral  prostration  which 
follows  the  sudden  leaving  off  of  the  accustomed 
dram. 

1324.  It  is  a  valuable  rule  of  universal  applica- 
tion, that  if  in  doing  anything  discomfort  follows, 
cease   at   once;   it    is    useless   to   fight    against 
nature  ;    even    if   walking   tires,  every  additional 
step  is  an  injury.     Newton  complained,  that  the 
study   of  lunar   irregularities    "  makes    my   head 
ache  ;  "  and  when  he  persisted  in  it  against  medi- 
cal advice,  such  severe  illness  was  induced,  as  to 
cause  mental  derangement ;  pain  is   nature's  ap- 
peal to  desist ;  persistence  always  makes  a  cure 
more  difficult  and  doubtful. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  279 

1325.  Never  reprove  in  the  presence  of  a  third 
person ;  it  repels  rather  than  inclines. 

1326.  On  slippery  places,  take  short  steps  and 
slow. 

1327.  Large  prizes  have  been  offered  for  the 
most  certain  method  of  determining  whether  death 
has  actually  taken  place :    one  of  five  thousand 
dollars  three  years  ago  by  the  Marquis  d'Ouches, 
whose  benevolence  of  heart  makes  his  name  wor- 
thy of  mention.     Among  those  proposed  was  to 
raise  a  blister  by  the  flame  of  a  candle  ;  it  would 
yield  a  fluid  on  puncture  if  there  was  life  ;  only 
air,  if  death  had  taken  place.     Lorcher  observed 
in  nine  hundred  cases,  a  shaded  and  grayish  spot, 
first   on  the   outer  portion   of   the  white  of  the 
eye,  gradually  extending  over,  its  whole  surface. 
Ponce  noticed  a  general  decoloration  of  the  base 
of  the  eye,  which  in  life,  as  seen  by  the  ophthal- 
moscope, is  an  intense  red,  changing  in  death  to  a 
yellowish  white.      Mr.  Holland   proposed-  cadav- 
eric   lividity   of    dependent    parts    of    the   body, 
as  observed  in  sixteen  thousand  subjects  ;    this 
generally  appears  very  soon  after  death.     A  pol- 
ished needle  stuck  into  the  flesh  is  moistened  if 
there  is  life  ;  if  not,  it  is  as  bright  as  before.     Tie 
a  string  tight  around  a  finger ;  if  there  is  any  cir- 
culation whatever,  the  skin  distends  and  blackens 
or  reddens.      Monteverdi  alleges  that   the    most 
certain  sign  of  death   is   produced  by  injecting 
hartshorn  under  the  skin,  causing  a  wine-red  color 
of  the  skin  if  there  is  any  life ;  if  not,  there  is  no 
discoloration  whatever. 


28O  HOW  TO  LIFE  LONG. 

1328.  All  head-aches  are  caused  or  aggravated 
by  cold  feet,  costive  habits,  and  irregular  eating ; 
if  the  removal  of  these  does  not  cure,  a  physician 
should  be  called,  for  there  is  danger  ahead. 

1329.  In  France,  a  current  of  air  is  shunned  as 
if  it  were  a  sirocco  of  the  desert ;  a  draft  of  cold 
air  on  a  person  in  a  still  position  is  more  danger- 
ous than  the  foul  air  of  any  ordinary  apartment  or 
public  vehicle.     The  rule  should  be  imperative  : 
keep  in  motion  if  the  wind  is  blowing  on  you. 

1330.  In  an  ordinary  public  conveyance  there 
is  a  difference  of  twenty-five  degrees  between  the 
upper  and  lower  air ;  hence  as  it  is  of  greatest  im- 
portance to  keep  the  feet  warm,  it  would  be  better 
to  wrap   a  shawl  around  them   than  around  the 
shoulders. 

1331.  The  cimex,  like  rats,  cannot  live  where 
there  is  perfect  cleanliness  ;  —  "  cimex  "  is  the  sci- 
entific name  for  bed-bug,  cleanliness  is  its  death. 

1332.  American   family    life    is    unmistakably 
dull,  unless  neighbors  or  visitors  are  present ;  the 
individual  members  do  not  seem  to  feel  under  any 
obligation  to  interest  or  amuse  the  others  ;  there 
should  be  more  visiting,  a  greater  interchange  of 
social  intercourse.    It  might  be  arranged,  especially 
of  long  winter  nights,  that  the  younger  members 
at  least  should  go  somewhere  two  or  three  times 
a  week ;  and  one  night  in  a  week  "  receive  "   at 
their  own   homes,   making  a   common   effort   to 
devise  some  new  source  of  amusement  at  every 
gathering. 


HEAL  Tff  MAXIMS.  28 1 

1333.  Two   new  parlor   amusements   are   thus 
described.     Two  players  are  closely  blinded  with 
a  bandage   made    of  their  pocket-handkerchiefs. 
Each  one  is  provided  with  a  saucer  full  ;of  cake 
or  cracker  crumbs,  which  is  held  in  the  left  hand, 
and  a  spoon,  which  is  held  in  the  right  hand.     A 
sheet  is  spread  upon  the  floor,  upon  which  the 
players  sit,  and  at  a  given  signal  they  begin  to 
feed    each   other.      Their   efforts    to    find    each 
other's"  mouths  with  their  spoons   never   fail   to 
afford  much  sport.     Another  amusing  experiment 
is  to  try  to  blow  out  a  candle  blindfolded.     The 
candle  is  placed  upon  a  table,  up  to  which' a  player 
is  led  ;  he  then  walks  back  six  steps,  turns  round 
three  times,  and  walks  forward  as  nearly  in  the 
direction  of  the  candle  as  possible,  and  tries  to 
blow  it   out.     If  he   happens   to  wander   to  the 
wrong  part  of  the  room,  the  effect  of  the  blowing 
is  very  funny.     There  is  an  out-door  amusement, 
irresistibly  ludicrous  :  place  a  stake  or  tree  near 
the  water's  edge ;  blindfold  half  a  dozen  persons, 
each  provided  with  a  wheel-barrow,  some  thirty  or 
forty  yards  distant  from  the  tree  :  he  to  have  a 
prize  who  hits  the  tree  with  his  barrow,  he  to  pay 
for  it  who  strikes  the  water. 

1334.  A  car-load  of  passengers  throw  off  into 
the  atmosphere  about  them  two  pounds  of  solid 
and  gaseous  impurities  every  hour ;  and  as  the 
doors  and  windows  are  generally  closed  while  in 
motion,  persons  would  do  well  to  leave  the  car  and 
walk  on  the  platform  at  every  station. 


282  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 


-  One  of  the  most  impressive  illustrations 
of  the  demagoguism  of  our  public  men  was  given, 
when  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed 
the  "  Eight  hour-law,"  which  expressed  the  idea 
that  laboring  men  ought  not  to  work  more  than 
eight  hours  a  day  ;  that  a  man  should  be  paid 
enough  money  for  eight  hours'  work  to  support 
himself  and  family  ;  and  that  he  ought  to  have  the 
time  beyond  that  for  rest,  recreation,  and  improve- 
ment. The  practical  effect  was  that  as  the  price 
of  labor  increased,  the  price  of  everything  else 
increased  in  the  same  proportion,  and  the  laborer 
was  no  better  off  than  he  was  before.  In  addition, 
the  people  by  degrees  began  to  see  that  a  man 
could  not  do  a  day's  work  in  eight  hours,  and  con- 
sequently refused  to  pay  them  for  what  they  did 
not  do  ;  would  not  pay  them  for  ten  and  twelve 
hours'  work  when  they  worked  only  eight  hours. 
Moneyed  men  refused  to  embark  in  enterprises 
which  required  labor,  and  invested  their  means  in 
mortgages  or  government  securities.  One  gentle- 
man alone,  in  New  York,  declined  building  to  the 
extent  of  one  million  dollars,  on  the  ground  that 
a  man  could  not  do  a  day's  work  in  eight  hours. 
Merchants  and  bankers,  lawyers,  clergymen,  and 
physicians  in  any  great  city  have  to  work  nearer 
sixteen  hours  a  day  than  eight.  Multitudes  of 
them  are  found  hard  at  work  in  their  places  of 
business  long  after  dark,  and  very  often  until  near 
midnight  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  mechanic 
should  be  less  favored,  especially  as  nine  out  of 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  283 

ten  of  them  spend  the  hours  beyond  eight,  not 
indeed  in  study,  or  reading,  or  helping  their  wives 
at  home,  but  in  idle  gossip  at  street  corners,  gro- 
cery stores,  and  beer-shops. 

1336.  To  wash  the  hands  and  feet  just  before 
going  to  bed,  leaves  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  and 
comfort  well  worth  the  trouble. 

1337.  About  one  quarter  of  all  "Bitters"  sold 
as  medicines,  contain  thirty  per  cent,  of  alcohol, 
while  the  purest  brandies  and  best  whiskeys  con- 
tain less  than  fifty  per  cent. 

1338.  Diphtheria  has  been  cured  by  taking  quin- 
ine to  the  extent  of  its  causing  deafness  or  a  ring- 
ing in  the  ears,  when  the  membrane  or  exudation 
'loosens,  or  detaches  itself,  and  the  appetite  and 
strength  begin  to  return.     A  boy  of  fourteen  took 
sixty-four  grains  in  forty-eight  hours,  before  the 
ringing  commenced,  but  soon  recovered  his  health. 

1339.  There  is  very  little  luck  in  business  suc- 
cess :   the   man  who  achieves  a  fortune,  a  good 
name,  and  a  serene  old  age,  in  pointing  out  to  you 
the  chart  of  his  life,  will  show  that  his  way  has 
led  through  the  toilsome,  dusty  road  of  economy, 
self-denial,   and    diligent,    persevering,   persistent 
painstaking,  so  as  to  insure  that  everything  should 
be  well  done,  and  at  the  time  and  price  promised. 

1340.  There  is  no  despotism  more  absolute  than 
the  despotism  of  democracy  ;  as  witness  trades- 
unions  beating  and  killing  men  who  are  willing  to 
work  for  what  they  can  get  rather  than  be  sup- 
ported by  the  earnings  of  others. 


284  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG: 

1341.  The  immortality  of  the  soul  is  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  evanescent  nature  of  the 
body  ;  it  was  so  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind 
of  the  Jewish  people,  as  to  have  been  taken  for 
granted,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  therefore 
seldom  stated  ;  just  as  it  would  be  considered  un- 
necessary to  say  that  "  snow  is  white,"  although 
reference  may  be  made  to  that  fact  in  an  indi- 
rect manner,  which  makes  it  really  stronger,  as 
in  the  assertion,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham, 
and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob. 
God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  liv- 
ing," which  indirectly  amounts  to  the  assertion, 
that  these  men  were  living  in  the  Saviour's  day. 
Where  that  undying  part  resides,  is  beyond  our 
present  knowledge  ;  it  has  been  usually  referred 
to  the  brain  ;  but  as  a  man  winds  up  his  watch 
sometimes  unconsciously,  or  can  play  on  the 
flute  or  a  piano  with  his  fingers,  while  he  is  think- 
ing or  talking  of  something  else,  it  would  seem 
that  there  is  intelligence  in  the  nervous  system 
as  well  as  in  the  brain.  This  we  do  know,  that 
the  living  soul  entered  Adam  with  a  breath,  and 
that  with  the  breath  it  leaves  all  of  Adam  born  ; 
"  the  breath  of  life,"  its  connection  with  the  soul, 
we  cannot  fathom  now,  but  may  "  know  hereaf- 
ter." Meanwhile  we  must  be  content  with  the  fact 
that  life,  life  eternal,  immortality,  has  been  more 
clearly  brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel.  Without 
the  faith  of  this  future  existence,  it  would  seem 
that  man  would  actually  die  under  the  depressing 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.          .  285 

influence  of  the  doctrine  of  annihilation,  and  we 
"  would  be  of  all  men  the  most  miserable." 

1342.  It   is  worth   more   than   diamonds   pure 
and  costliest  diadems,  to  have  an  abiding  and  im- 
plicit faith  that  there  is  a  Providence  in  all  the 
affairs  of  life,  however  adverse  the  seeming. 

1343.  It  admits  of  demonstration  that  the  gases 
of  soil  pipes  will  ascend  through  the  water  in  the 
syphon  traps,  and  will  in  time  perforate  the  leaden 
pipe  at  a  point  in  the  bend  which  the  water  does 
not  touch  ;  hence  traps  should  be  made  with  a 
longer  column   of  water,  a  foot  at   least,  and  in 
addition  there  should  be  a  pipe  leading  from  the 
soil-pipe  or  sewer,  to  the  flue  in  the  chimney  con- 
nected with  the  kitchen  fire,  where  there  is  an 
upward  and  outward  draught  at- all  seasons  of  the 
year. 

1344.  It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  beauti- 
ful city  of  Baltimore,  that  drawing   is  taught  to 
20,000  children   in  the  public  schools  ;   it  is   an 
art    which    cultivates    accuracy    of    observation, 
judgment,    and   comparison ;     it    is    a    constant 
source   of  pleasurable   amusement   at   home  and 
abroad  ;  from  sketches  taken  in  travel,  it  brings 
to  vivid   remembrance   in   after  years   what  was 
most  impressive  in  the  journey  ;  and  may  be  made 
of  practical  pecuniary  value  in  almost  every  de- 
partment of  business,   in  conveying  accurate,  defi- 
nite information,  and  of   a  kind  not   to   be    mis- 
understood,  as   verbal  and   written   descriptions 
often  are. 


286  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

J345-  Vineland,  New  Jersey,  has  a  population 
of  ten  thousand  ;  there  is  a  clause  in  every  deed, 
forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor.  During  six  months 
no  citizen  required  any  assistance  from  the  over- 
seer of  the  poor.  During  one  year  there  was  one 
indictment,  and  that  for  a  little  fight  between 
two  colored  persons  ;  there  were  but  three  fires, 
and  only  one  house  burned  ;  the  taxes  are  only 
one  per  cent,  and  there  is  no  debt ;  the  police  ex- 
penses are  seventy-five  dollars  a  year.  A  little 
town  in  New  England,  of  less  than  ten  thousand 
inhabitants,  maintains  forty  grog-shops  ;  a  police 
judge,  city  marshal,  assistant  marshal,  four  night 
watchmen,  and  six  policemen,  are  necessary  for 
the  protection  of  the  peace  of  the  town  ;  four  fire 
companies  of  forty  men  each,  costing  $3,000  a 
year,  are  called  out  on  an  average  every  other 
week  ;  it  costs  $2,500  a  year  to  support  the  poor, 
and  the  township  owes  $120,000  ;  this  striking  dif- 
erence  between  two  towns,  one  of  which  permits 
the  sale  of  liquor  and  the  other  does  not,  is  a 
most  impressive  commentary  on  the  value  of  the 
prohibition  of  the  sale  of  liquors  to  the  people. 

1346.  Not  only  is  green  paper  for  walls  poison- 
ous, unless  kept  well  varnished  or  painted,  but  red 
papering  also,  because  the  material  used  to  fix  the 
red  color  contains  arsenic,  as  well  as  green  paper, 
carpets,  and  curtains.  It  is  very  certain  that  hard- 
plastered  walls  are  healthier  for  chambers  than 
those  which  are  covered  with  paper,  whatever  the 
color. 


'HEALTH  MAXIMS.  287 

1347.  Useful  men,  good  men  and  women,  are 
pf ten  taken  away  in  the  very  midst  of  their  use- 
fulness, and  often  too  at  such  critical  times,  that 
we  feel  as  if  we  could  not  do  without  them,  and 
notably  clergymen,  and  missionaries,  and  other 
co-workers  in  the  cause  of  religion  ;  but  somehow 
or  other,  it  always  turns  out  that  their  places  are 
supplied,  sooner  or  later.  Still  we  wonder  why 
they  should  have  been  taken  away ;  this  we  know, 
that  there  are  other  worlds  ;  they  may  be  inhab- 
ited, and  "the  Lord  hath  need  of  them,"  either 
there,  or  in  this  world,  as  messengers  to  do  his 
bidding  in  the  armies  of  heaven,  or  amongst 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  Gabriel  was  Dan- 
iel's angel,  and  the  angel  of  others,  and  sometimes 
when  his  work  was  more  difficult  than  he  ex- 
pected, or  took  a  longer  time,  he  would  be  oc- 
casionally hurried,  just  as  men  are  in  this  world 
when  short  of  help ;  it  seems  almost  that  it  was 
his  business,  in  a  sense,  to  answer  prayer.  All 
these  things  come  to  light,  in  the  tenth  of  Dan- 
iel, and  as  the  world  gets  older  and  better,  there 
are  more  prayers  to  be  heard,  more  messengers, 
angels,  whose  services  are  to  be  called  into  requi- 
sition, since  the  government  of  the  Almighty 
is  one  of  instrumentalities,  and  to  be  an  instru- 
ment of  his,  to  be  a  willing  servant,  is  the  high- 
est bliss.  So  when  the  good  and  pure,  and  cherub 
children  are  taken  from  us,  we  may  find  refuge 
in  the  consolation  that  "  the  Lord  hath  need  of 
them." 


288  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1348.  After  all  the  hard  work  of  the  last  two 
hundred  and   fifty  years,  the  world   has  not  got. 
rich  enough,  not  got  ahead  far   enough   to  feed 
itself  four  years,  if  every  human   being  were   to 
stop  work  from  this  day  out.     So  a  man  who  in 
fifty  years  makes   enough  to    live   upon   for   the 
remainder  of  his  threescore  and  ten,  "  beats  the 
world." 

1349.  Money  lent   at   high   interest,   generally 
stays  lent.     Hence  those  who  have  but  little  to 
lose,  cannot  afford  to  run  the  risk ;  yet  such  are 
oftenest  tempted  to  do  so,  and  pay  the  penalty  of 
a  life  of  penury  and  privation  ever  after. 

1350.  I  know  a  man  who,  up  to  fifty-five,  took 
coffee  every  morning,  and  tea  every  night,  with 
large  proportions  of  cream  and  sugar ;  one  morn- 
ing he  suddenly  concluded   he  would  cease   the 
use  of  coffee  as  a  habit  and  would  take  tea  with- 
out  cream   or  sugar  ;  ten   years   later   he   never 
fails  to  stir  his  tea  with  a  spoon  ;  sometimes  he 
catches  himself  in  the  act,  and  ceases  instantly. 
A  clergyman  shaved  himself  before  a  looking-glass 
on  the  mantel ;  noticing  its  absence  one  day,  he 
complained   to  the    house-maid   of    her   neglect. 
"  La !  master,  I  thought  you  did  not  need  it,  and 
have  not  put  it  there  for  three  weeks."     A  man 
writes   his  name   in  precisely  the  same  way  at 
fifty,  as  at  twenty-five ;  we  may  call  it  habit,  but 
that  is  not  an  explanation  ;  is  there  instinctive  or 
mechanical  intelligence  in  the  nerves,  outside  the 
brain  ? 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  289 

1351.  Intestinal  paralysis  has  resulted  from  the 
use  of  ambrosial  hair  dye,  the  element  of   lead 
causing  the  difficulty. 

1352.  Common   itch    is    caused    by   a  micro- 
scopic insect  eating  into  the  skin.     Cover  the  part 
with  sweet  oil,  and  the  disease  is  cured  ;  as  the 
insect  breathes  through  its  skin,  the  oil  plugs  up 
the   pores,   and   death   follows   from    suffocation. 
The  mildew  of  plants  is  destroyed  by  sprinkling 
over  them  a  mixture  of  two  thirds  water  and  one 
third  molasses  ;  the  water  evaporates  and  leaves 
a  thin  film  of  sugar,  or  varnish,  which  stops  up 
the  lungs  of  the  plant,  and  it  would  die  in  a  few 
days  if  the  rain  did  not  wash  it  off.     A  child  was 
covered  with  gold-leaf,  for  a  public  occasion,  but 
came  so  near  dying  in  a  few  hours,  that  the  au- 
thorities ordered  its  removal,  so  nearly  alike  are 
plants,  animals,  and  man. 

1353.  It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  while  the 
pulse  of  a  healthy  adult   is   from    sixty-eight   to 
seventy-two  beats  in  a  minute,  healthy  breathing 
is  about  one  fourth  of  that,  or  from  sixteen   to 
eighteen  times  a  minute,  but  this  must  be  noted 
while  the  person  is  unconscious  of  it. 

1354.  The  railroads  of  this  country  have  cost 
near  two  thousand  millions  of  dollars  ;  if  left  with- 
out repairs  for  ten  years,  they  would  for  railroad 
purposes  be  worthless.     But  the  heart,  the  pulse, 
the  whole  human  machine,  does  its  own  repairs  as 
it  goes  along,  and  works  steadily  from  infancy  to 
four-score,  thus  "  wonderfully  are  we  made." 

19 


2QO  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1355.  There   is   a   species  of  ribbon-grass,  no 
two  spears  of  which  are  precisely  alike.     But  men 
and  women  have  been  found  to  have  such  a  close 
resemblance   as    not    to    be    distinguishable   by 
sight ;   but  the  photograph   of   the   palm  of  the 
hand,  taken  in  a  strong  oblique  light,  is  peculiar  to 
itself,  and  is  never  like  another's,  hence  is  a  per- 
fect identification. 

1356.  Persons   are  sometimes   needlessly  dis- 
turbed, by  noticing  that  the  pulse  or  heart  loses 
a  beat  in  every  three  or  four  or  more  ;  persons 
having  good  health   have  noticed  this  for  many 
years  in  succession,  and  later  in  life  nature  has 
made    the   rectification.      Talleyrand's   pulse   in- 
termitted  one   beat   in  every  six,  and   he  inter- 
preted it  to  mean  that  the  heart  in  consequence 
had  one  sixth  more  rest,  gave  him  one  sixth  more 
vigor,  and  that  it  would  give  him  one  sixth  more 
of  life.     He  died  at  eighty-five. 

1357.  The  quickest  way  to  bring  about  a  re- 
form among  the  poor,  the  vicious,  and  the  thrift- 
less,  is    to   make   reform    pecuniarily   profitable. 
Multitudes  of  drunkards  are  made  every  year  in 
restaurants,  and  eating-houses,  and  lunch  rooms. 
Let  the  public  know  where  a  cleaner  and  better 
and   cheaper   meal   can   be   had   than   at   places 
where  liquor  is   sold  or  given  away,  and   those 
places  will  be  patronized  by  high  and  low ;  such 
are  the  Quaker  dairies  in  New  York. 

1358.  The  abnegation  of   trades-unions  is  the 
shortest  road  to  low  prices  and  good  times. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  29 1 

1359.  Persons    subject    to    lead    colic,    should 
never  eat  anything  without   having  on   leathern 
gloves,  and  at  each  meal  should  take  half  a  glass 
of  sweet  milk  ;   for  the  gloves  prevent  any  par- 
ticles of   lead   being   conveyed   by  the  hands  or 
from  the  finger-ends  to  the  food  and  passing  into 
the  stomach,  while  the  milk  antagonizes  the  poi- 
sonous effect  of  any  stray  particle  finding  its  way 
there. 

1360.  Captain  Nares,  of  the  expedition  to  find 
Sir  John  Franklin,  states  that  when  the  men  of 
his  party,  on  leaving  the  tents  on  an  exploration, 
had  the  choice  of  tea  or  grog,  every  one  preferred 
the  tea,  instinct  teaching   them    in    those  arctic 
latitudes  where   the  thermometer  was   sixty-two 
degrees  below  zero,  that  tea  kept  them  warmer, 
sustained   them   longer   than   spirits ;   and   more 
recent  chemical   observations    show  that   alcohol 
lowers  the  heat  of  the  body,  hence  ought  not  to 
be  taken  to  "  warm  up." 

1361.  There  is  a  very  general  impression  that 
hardships  and  exposures  toughen  the  constitution 
and  make  it  more  capable  of  endurance  ;  but  on 
an  occasion  when  a  ship  was  sent  to  Greenland  to 
find  an  exploring  party  who  had  not  been  heard 
from  for  two  winters,  on  their  being  found  it  was 
discovered  that  the  new  comers    bore    the  cold 
much  better  than  the  old  ones.     It  is  with  men  as 
with  cattle,  those  who  are  housed   best   and  fed 
most  liberally  thrive  best   and   can  do  the  most 
work. 


2Q2  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1362.  The  pathway  of  human  improvement  ap- 
proaches the  infinite ;  by  science  applied  to  the 
burning  of  coal,  there  is  an  amount  of  power  ex- 
pended, of   work  done  daily,  equal   to  that  of   a 
hundred  millions  of  men  ;  that  is,  steam  does  as 
much  work  every  day  in  Great  Britain,  as  could 
be  done  by  that   many  men  in    the   same   time, 
or  twelve  times  as  much   as   before  the  days  of 
steam.     Ten  years  ago,  a  voyage  from  Liverpool 
to  Calcutta  required  a  hundred  and  twenty  days  ; 
now,  a  steamer  by  the  Suez  Canal  can  pass  the 
distance  in   thirty  days ;  within   the   same   time 
there  has  been  a  saving  of  coal  of  one  tenth,  by 
the  improvements  made  in  steam-engines,  giving 
more  room  for  goods,  at  a  less  cost  of  freight 

1363.  Sometimes  great  men  have  to  work  on 
without   apparent   result  and  against  opposition, 
and  even  "  die  without  the  sight,"  yet  unshaken  in 
their  faith  and  unswerving  in  their  sense  of  duty. 
This  is  moral  heroism  of  the  highest  type  ;  so  it 
is  in  some  forms  of  disease  requiring  patient  per- 
sistence, with  almost  no  advances  to  encourage. 
Charles  Sumner's  case  is  a  strong  illustration,  but 
success  came  after  years  of  brave  endurance. 

1364.  The  present  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  refused 
a  government  appointment  with  a  salary  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  a  year,  because  it  would  in- 
terfere with  his  efforts  in  the  House  of  Lords  for 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  operatives  in 
factories.     Here  is  one  of   nature's  noblemen,  to 
be  classed  with  Howard  and  Peabody  and  Bergh, 
—  men  of  grand  aims  and  generous  hearts. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  293 

1365.  A  London  druggist  writes  that  he  has 
in  a  short  time  received  from  his  customers  the 
following  orders.    All  medical  prescriptions  should 
be  written  out  in  full,  in  plain  English. 

WJiat  was  written.  What  was  wanted. 

Conservative  Roses,  Cons.  Rosae. 

Bold  Harmony,  Bole  Armenia. 

Cast  Iron  Sope,  Sapo  Castil. 

Linctified  Naptha,  Naphtha  Rect. 

Vigorous  Turpentine,  Tereb.  Venet. 

Sweet  Nighter,  Spt.  ^Eth.  Nit. 

Barrax  of  Hunny,  Mel.  Boracis. 

Stincho  of  Rhubarb,  Tincture  of  Rhubarb. 

Oblong  Tea,  Oolong  Tea. 

1366.  The   old    time  school  education  is  con- 
stantly becoming  less  valuable  as  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  becomes  more  general.    A  larger  num- 
ber now  start  even  in  the  race  of  life,  but  they 
will  always  come  out  ahead  whose  training  was 
most  successful   in  learning   them   to   think   for 
themselves  by  throwing  them  on  their  own  re- 
sources, and  planning  their  own  ways  out  of  diffi- 
culties, on  the  old  time  principle  that  necessity  is 
the  mother  of  invention. 

1367.  If  society  has  a  right   to    separate    con- 
victed  criminals  from   intercourse  with  it  for  a 
season  or  for  a  lifetime,  the  question  will  present 
itself  in  the  near  future,  that,  as  in  the  light  of  the 
fact  that  vile  passions  and  crime  are  hereditary, 
does  not  society  owe  it  to  itself  to  prevent  such 
perpetuation  by  permanent  seclusion  or  surgical 
interference. 


294  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1368.  Warts   should   never  be  cut  or  picked  ; 
they  may  be  removed  without  leaving  a  scar,  by 
rubbing  them  night  and  morning  with  a  piece  of 
muriate  of  ammonia,  moistened. 

1369.  Two  very  great  changes  are  quietly  and 
steadily  going  on  in  connection  with  the  practice 

.  of  medicine.  A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  we 
wrote  that  he  was  worthy  who  could  best  cure 
disease,  but  he  was  worthier  and  greater  who  did 
most  to  prevent  it ;  then  and  there  we  entered  on 
its  teachings,  and  now  sanitary  science,  which 
means  the  prevention  of  sickness  by  rational 
means  in  the  individual,  in  families,  and  in  com- 
munities, is  taking  the  first  rank  in  medical  in- 
quiry, and  is  engaging  the  attention  of  the  best 
minds  in  both  hemispheres.  The  second  change 
is  the  gradually  less  frequent  resort  to  medicine, 
and  a  greater  tendency  to  preserve  the  strength 
of  the  patient  by  meeting  his  symptoms  with 
nourishing  food.  On  this  ground  is  the  introduc- 
tion of  "Koumys,"  fermented  asses  or  mare's 
milk,  for  the  cure  of  consumption  and  all  diseases 
requiring  nutrition,  and  the  employment  of  choc- 
olate, a  dessert  spoonful  in  a  cup,  for  diarrhoea, 
repeat  as  desired. 

1370.  To  a  great  extent,  crime  descends,  from 
parents  to  children  by  inheritance  ;  so  do  vicious 
practices,  propensities,  and  predilections  ;  hence  it 
is  no  wonder  that  all  nations  in  all  ages  have  re- 
spected family  connection  in  proportion  as  it  has 
been  long  and  honorable. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  295 

1371.  "Koumys"    may   soon    become   a  very 
familiar  word,  as  it  means  that  milk  can  be  medic- 
inally used  to  very  great  advantage  in  the  treat- 
ment of  consumption,  dyspepsia,  and  various  forms 
of  neuralgia  ;  it  is  essentially  fermented  milk  in  one 
of  three  stages  :  the  young,  the  middle,  and  the 
old  ;  one  of  the  most  constant  effects  is  the  in- 
crease in  nutrition,  the  fermenting  process  adding 
three  new  substances  to  the  milk :  carbonic  acid, 
lactic  acid,  and  alcohol.     It  has  been  known  in 
Russia  and  among  the  Tartars  for  a  century,  and 
is  most  highly  esteemed  as  a  remedy  in  various 
lung  affections.     Grier,  who  as  a  surgeon  in  the 
Russian  army  had  a  good  opportunity  of  studying 
the  subject,  first  directed  the  attention  of  Eng- 
land, his  native  country,  to  its  remedial  effects  in 
1873,  and  Schnapp  in  France. 

1372.  A  newly  laid  egg  is  full,  but  every  hour  it 
becomes  less  and  less  so,  by  the  escape  of  the 
internal  liquid  through  the   porous    shell,  which 
lightens    it,  causing  it  to   rise    in  water.     If   to 
a  quart  of  pure  water  four  ounces   of   salt   are 
added,  an  egg  a  day  old  or  less  will  sink  to  the 
bottom,  and  is  fresh  ;  if  three  days  old,  it  is  stale 
and  will  float ;  if  five  days  old,  a  part  of  it  will  pro- 
ject above  the  surface  of  the  water;  these  differ- 
ences are  more  decided  as  the  weather  is  warmer. 
An  egg  dipped  in  glycerine,  or  liquid  glue,  or  gum 
arabic,  or  varnish,  will  have  its  pores  closed,  hence 
will  keep  fresh  a  long  time  in  a  cool  place. 


296  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1373.  One  of  the  most  just  and  merited  benev- 
olences of  the  times,  in  reality  a  debt,  is  the  ample 
support  of  clergymen  and  their  families  who  are 
in  necessitous  circumstances  after  having  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

1374.  Hallucinations  are   sometimes    cured  by 
humoring  the  patient,  rather  than  by  endeavoring 
to  reason  him  out  of  them.    A  poor  woman  thought 
she  was  possessed  of  a  devil.     Dr.  Priestly  caused 
her  to  stand  on  a  block  of  glass,  and  with  some 
mystifying  manipulations  gave  her  a  tremendous 
shock  of  electricity.     "There  !  I  saw  him  go  off  in 
a  blue  flame,  but  he  gave  me  such  a  jerk."     A 
man   thought   that  his   nose   had  a  glass  bottle 
growing  on  it,  and  wanted  the  doctor  to  take  it 
off;  he  was  required  to  close  his  eyes  until  he 
could   count   sixty,   this   wholly   preoccupied    his 
mind  ;    holding  a  bottle  near  the  nose  with  one 
hand,  the  doctor  gave  it  a  violent  blow  with  his 
cane  in  the  other,  the  patient  paid  his  fee  and 
went  off  perfectly  satisfied. 

1375.  It  is  not  the  number  of  any  society  or 
church  which  tells  on  its  influence  for  good,  but 
the  weight  of  character  belonging  to  each  indi- 
vidual. 

1376.  A  business   friend  who   came   to   New 
York  from  Albany  a  poor  boy,  and  was  able  to 
retire  before  he  was  forty-five,  in  answer  to  the 
question  how  he  succeeded  so  well,  replied,   "I 
always  saw  for  myself  that  my  orders  were  exe- 
cuted ;  I  never  trusted  to  others." 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  297 

1377.  Contempt  is  frequently  mutual  ;  when  a 
man  knows  a  thing  is  true,  although  he  cannot 
give  a  reason  for  it,  and  you  pronounce  it  "  ridic- 
ulous," "absurd,"  because  it  seems  to  you  irra- 
tional, he  has  the  advantage  of  you.  An  old 
woman  advised  a  friend  who  had  for  many  years 
been  subject  to  attacks  of  erysipelas  about  the 
face  and  head,  to  wear  around  her  neck  green 
glass  beads  on  a  silken  string,  with  a  silk  bag  filied 
with  powdered  brimstone  attached  ;  it  was  done, 
and  there  was  no  attack  of  the  disease  for  twelve 
years,  when  the  lady  died  of  some  other  malady, 
aged  seventy-two  ;  the  old  woman  spoke  from  her 
own  personal  individual  experience  ;  and  now  a 
physician  writes  he  had  not  known  a  failure  of 
good  results,  in  similar  cases,  in  twenty  years  ; 
lately,  a  man  states  that  he  had  been  cured  of 
painful  rheumatic  gout,  by  having  the  legs  of  his 
bedstead  stand  in  the  bottom  of  porter  bottles. 
There  is  one  principle  running  through  both  these 
cases  ;  the  glass  beads,  the  silk  thread,  the  silken 
purse,  the  brimstone,  the  porter  bottles,  are  all 
remarkable  non-conductors  of  electricity ;  they 
prevent  its  being  carried  away  from  the  body ;  it 
may  be  found  in  time,  that  many  diseases  may  be 
cured  by  conveying  electricity  into  the  body,  or 
preventing  it  .from  going  out,  although  this  must 
be  very  gradually  done,  for  if  it  is  brought  about 
in  a  hurry,  as  by  a  stroke  of  lightning,  the  conse- 
quences might  not  be  wholly  agreeable,  although 
very  prompt  in  ending  the  suffering. 


298  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1378.  The  new  medication,  transfusion  of  blood, 
has  four  branches  :    I.  Transfusion  of  defibrinated 
blood.     2.  Mediate  transfusion  with  pure  blood. 
3.  Immediate  transfusion  from  vein  to  vein.     4. 
Immediate  transfusion  from  artery  to  artery.     The 
present  promise  is,  that  it  may  become  an  im- 
portant addition  to  the  means  of  curing  various 
diseases.    Then  again,  hypodermic  injections  have 
been   introduced,    by  which    medicines    injected 
under  the  skin  have  a  more  rapid  and  powerful 
remedial   effect   than   when    swallowed   into   the 
stomach.    But  the  greater  point  after  all  is,  not 
to  get  sick.     This  is   certainly   practicable  to  a 
great  extent,  for  three  fourths  of  all  ordinary  dis- 
eases are  avoidable,  arising  as  they  do  from  vari- 
ous forms  of  filth  of  person,  clothing,  habitation, 
and  domicil  surroundings. 

1379.  The  annual   product  of  this   country  is 
seven  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  which  divided 
among   its  forty  millions  of   inhabitants   gives  a 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  a  year  to  each, 
out  of  which  must  be  paid  all  taxes  and  cost  of 
clothing,  shelter,  eating,  and  fuel ;  no  wonder  then 
the  mass  of  mankind  must  toil  all  the  days  of  their 
life  ;  but  if  all  were  to  keep  well,  as  they  could 
do,  if   health  were   reasonably  cared   for,  almost 
half  the  work,  intelligently  performed,  would  ac- 
complish as  much  ;  hence,  every  idler,  every  gen- 
tleman   loafer,    every   man   who    earns    nothing, 
makes   nothing,  makes  some  other   brother  man 
work  the  harder  for  his  benefit ;  is  this  right  ? 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  299 

1380.  In  the  progress  of  knowledge,  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  hope  for  the  good  time  coming 
when  perfect  health  shall  be  the  rule  and  sickness 
the  exception,  and  when  the  almost  universal  end- 
ing of  life,  except  by  accident,  shall  be  old  age, 
and  when  every  one  will  go  down  to  the  grave 
"  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season." 

1381.  The  whole    system  of   the   education  of 
children,  whether  in  public  schools  or  by  private 
tuition,  is  founded  on  a  basis  which  is  ruinous  to 
the  physical  and  detrimental  to  the  mental  consti- 
tution ;  it   makes  study  laborious  and   cultivates 
bad  habits  of  thought  ;  while  the  brain  is  fragile 
and  watery,  it  should  not  be  strained  ;  all  study 
should  be  made  easy,  information  should  be  com- 
municated more  by  sight,  and  not  by  letters  and 
reading,  earlier  than  seven  years  of  age  ;  and  even 
thereafter  children  should  be  instructed  as  much 
as  possible  by  drawings  and  sketchings,  while  the 
imagination  could  be  exercised  by  designing,  thus 
helping   them  to   give  mechanical  form  to  their 
thoughts. 

1382.  A  cubic  inch  of  gold,  which  measures  an 
inch  each  way,  is  worth  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  ;  a  cubic  foot,   a  quarter  of  a  million  ;  a 
cubic  yard,  seven  millions ;  a  room  twenty-three 
feet  each  way,  would  hold  all  the  gold  now  in  the 
world,  outside  of  the  mines ;  yet  good  health,  with 
a  good  heart,  is  worth  more  than  all  this  treasure, 
but  we  daily  risk  it  for  the  millionth  part  of  the 
gold. 


300  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1383.  A  house  which  has  been  unoccupied  for 
even  a  week  should  never  be  moved  into  without 
kindling  fires  to  burn  day  and  night  for  several 
days,  with  doors  and  windows    opened,  so  as   to 
allow  all  odors  and  gases  to  escape,  and  to  dry  all 
the  walls  and  wood-work  most  thoroughly  ;  espe- 
cially ought  this  to  be  done  if  beads  of  water  are 
noticed    on   the   plastering   anywhere  ;   the   least 
observant  know  that  the  rooms  of  a  house  have  a 
damp,    musty,  heavy,    dead   atmosphere,    even   if 
shut  up  for  a  very  few  days,  in  the  finest  weather. 

1384.  Physiological  mathematics,  a  phrase  not 
perhaps  used  before  in  any  writings,  might,  with 
incalculable  advantage  to  human  health  and  well- 
being,   be    made    a    branch   of    common    school 
education.     Instead  of  the  dry  sums  of  addition, 
multiplication,  and  division  of  numbers  of  quan- 
tity, an  immense  amount  of  practical  knowledge 
of   a   sanitary  character   might  be  stored  up   in 
the   minds   of  children   thus  :    half   a  cubic  inch 
of    oxygen    is    consumed   at    every   breath ;   we 
breathe  in  health,  sixteen  times  in  a  minute,  how 
long  will  it  take  to  consume  all  the  oxygen  in  a 
room   holding    twenty-four  feet  ?      If   a   scholar 
breathes  seventy  cubic  feet  of  air  in  four  hours, 
how  many  cubic  feet  will  a  hundred  require  in 
four  hours  ?      Questions  like  these  would  make 
children  familiar  with  the  most  vital  truths  in  san- 
itary matters,  and  they  would  never  be  forgotten. 

1385.  A  few  live  fish,  pickerel  or  trout,  will  keep 
a  well  or  cistern  entirely  free  from  worms  and 
bugs. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  30 1 

1386.  There  is  a  fundamental  error  in  the  sys- 
tem of  public  school  instruction.    For  as  now  con- 
ducted, the  ambition  of  the  pupil  is  circumscribed 
to  the  one  point  of  making  a  recitation  without  a 
mistake,   the  next  day  the  lesson   is  almost  for- 
gotten ;   the  memory  is  mechanical,  there  is   no 
love  of  study,  no  pleasure  in  it,  it  is  nothing  short 
of   a  repelling,  painful   task,  while   it   should    be 
made  a  pleasure,  a  mental  feast.     There  should  be 
less  use  made  of  books,  more  of  the  blackboard  ; 
knowledge  should  be  made  to  come  through  the 
sight  of  objects  real  or  drawn  or  sketched  ;  there 
is  an  immense  amount  of  nerve  force  wasted  in 
endeavoring  to  give  form  to  what  is  read  or  de- 
scribed,  overtasking   the   brain,  and   exceedingly 
debilitating  to  the  whole  being. 

1387.  An    office-holder   in   Washington  wrote 
that  his  health  was  giving  way,  that  the  respon- 
sibilities of  his  position  were  such  that  he  could 
not  get  to  sleep  until  towards  daylight,  and  that 
he  did  not  average  two  nights  of  good  sleep  in 
a  month.     With  some  other  incidental  advice,  he 
was  counselled  to  embrace  an  opportunity  of  an 
electioneering  tour  in  New  England.    In  less  than 
two  weeks  he  could  sleep  ten  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four,  could  eat  most  extravagantly,  and  in 
all  other  respects  was  a  new  man.     The  question 
is,  is  he  not  paying  too  much  for  his  office  ?     He 
is  killing  himself  by  inches,  as  are  many  others, 
in  similar  positions  of  responsibility  in  every  de- 
partment of  business,  when  the  remedy  is  just  at 
hand  :  an  out-door  occupation. 


3<D2  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1388.  A  tooth  may  be  filed  down  to  the  gum 
without  pain,  if  a  piece  of  cotton  dipped  in  ether 
is  laid  first  on  the  tooth  and  then  on  the  file ;  if  a 
nerve  is  exposed,  dip  a  bit  of  wood  in  nitric  acid 
and  touch  the  end  of  the  nerve  with  it. 

1389.  As  the  ages  roll  on,  not  so  many  children 
are  born,  but  more  survive  to  man's  estate  in  con- 
sequence of  a  more  general  diffusion  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  of  life  and  health,  as  well  as  that 
the  effect  of  a  greater  intelligence  is  to  elevate  to 
higher  and  more   intellectual   tastes  on  which  a 
larger  share  of  the  nervous  energies  are  expended, 
and  less  on  the  animal  appetites  and  instincts. 

1 390.  Tainted  nieat  is  prized  by  many  as  being 
"  tender,"    but  it  is  not  as  easily  digested  as  is 
fresh,  which  can  be  always  known  by  its  elasticity 
to  the  touch  ;  it  does  not  leave  the  indentation  of 
the  finger,  as  in  dough. 

1391.  If  we  look  through  the  circle  of  the  hand 
at  a  painting  or  other  thing,  we  get  the  depth,  the 
relief,  which  is  necessary  to  a  satisfactory  view,  the 
focal  length  being  increased ;  it  exposes  deficien- 
cies, and  enables  one  to  better  judge  of  the  real 
value  of  any  work  of  art ;  it  is  both  a  stereoscope 
and  telescope,  always  at  hand,  and  saves  straining 
the  eyes. 

1392.  The  safest  tonic  for  persons  who  have 
not  a  good  appetite,  is  some  kind  of  -food  which 
they  relish,  as  canary  birds  and  bull-finches  "  pick 
up"  when  fed  now  and  then  with  green  plantain 
leaves,  chick-weed,  shepherd's  purse,  and  ground- 
sel. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  303 

1393.  It  has  been  known  for  a  hundred  years, 
that  if  the  garment  worn  next  the  skin  is  satur- 
ated with  salt-water,  it  quenches  intolerable  thirst, 
because  the  warmth  of  the  skin  sets  up  a  distill- 
ing process,  and  the  vapor   of  water   makes   its 
way  into  the  circulation,  the  particles  of  salt  be- 
ing too  large  to  enter,  and  too  heavy  to  rise. 

1394.  A  poor   young   man,  too   lame  to  walk, 
too  near-sighted  to  see  any  distance,  for  years  and 
years  an  invalid,  whose  only  available  method  of 
making   even   a   little   money,  is    in  operating  a 
knitting-machine,  writes  :  "  I  would  think  it  one 
of  the  greatest   blessings  of  my  life,  if  I  could 
earn  enough  for  mother,  who  is  now  eighty-four, 
that  she  would  not  have  to  tire  herself  with  work, 
for  the  rest  of  her  life."     Here  is  a  hero  with  a 
heart  worth  more  than  gold.     Shame  be  to  that 
child,  who  is   content  to  look  to  a   parent  for  a 
support,  and  is  meanly  waiting   in  idleness,  for 
death  to   put   him   in  possession   of   his  inherit- 
ance. 

1395.  "Did  you  break  that  glass.?  " 

"  Yes,  mam '  but  I  did  n't  go  to  do  it." 
"You  didn't  go  to  do  it!  you  didn't  go  not  to 
do  it,  you  little  careless  creature  ; "  and  then 
comes  the  whipping  of  a  child,  and  vituperation 
of  a  servant,  thus  punishing  for  truthfulness  and 
offering  a  reward  for  lying.  Let  the  reader  in- 
quire if  this  is  his  method  of  offering  the  strong- 
est temptation  to  the  weak  and  ignorant,  to  per- 
haps the  first  falsehood.  It  is  not  only  a 
cruelty,  but  a  crime. 


304  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1396.  Every  boy  and  girl,  when  at  all  practicable, 
should  be  taught  to  swim,  not  only  as  a  form  of 
agreeable  and  healthy  exercise  for  both  sexes,  like 
skating,  but  as  a  means  of  saving  their  own  lives 
and  the  lives  of  others.  Alderman  John  Horn, 
Jr.,  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  in  May,  1875,  saved 
the  life  of  a  poor  little  news-boy,  who  fell  into  the 
water  in  the  presence  of  two  boat-loads  of  people, 
not  one  of  whom  was  willing  to  jump  into  the 
river ;  the  alderman  chanced  to  be  seated  in  his 
office,  and  hearing  a  confused  noise,  ran  immedi- 
ately to  the  place,  and  without  an  instant's  hesi- 
tation, sprang  into  the  water  and  rescued  the 
child  just  as  he  was  sinking,  which  made  the 
number  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons, 
whom  he  has  saved  from  drowning.  He  is  a  good 
swimmer,  and  his  method  is  to  hold  the  person 
at  arm's-length,  aiming  to  keep  only  the  head  of 
the  drowning  person  out  of  the  water  ;  this  re- 
quires very  little  strength,  only  of  a  few  pounds. 
Who  will  not  envy  the  satisfaction  of  this  brave 
man,  at  the  thought  of  having  rescued  so  many 
imperilled  fellow-creatures  from  a  watery  grave, 
and  every  time  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life.  Let 
every  reader  hope  and  pray,  that  his  own  life  may 
not  at  last  be  sacrificed  to  his  benignant  hero- 
ism. 

1397.  If  you  are  very  sleepy,  can  scarce  keep 
your  eyes  open,  slide  into  bed  without  undressing  ; 
otherwise  the  usual  preparation  will  thoroughly 
arouse  you,  and  you  may  not  fall  to  sleep  for 
hours. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  305 

1398.  Never  cross  a  bridge  before  you  come  to 
it.     This  will  save  half  the  troubles  of  life. 

1399.  It  is  not  wise  nor  is  it  a  pure  humanity, 
to  ask  a  person  a  question,  when  it  is  to  his  in- 
terest to  give  a  false  answer ;  nor  is  it  politic  for 
you  to  run  a  risk  in  acting  upon  its  truthfulness. 
It  is  better   to  find  out  what  you  want  in  some 
other  way,    or  have  some  corroborating   circum- 
stance, or  additional  testimony  to  the  point. 

1400.  Suspiciousness    is   one    of    the   meanest 
and  one  of  the  most  troublesome  traits  of  human 
character  ;  it  makes  its  owner  thoroughly  miser- 
able, and  lays  him  liable  to   life-long  and   bitter 
remorse,  if  he  expresses  it  to  others.     Many  per- 
sons of  a  low  nature  do  not  hesitate,  apparently, 
to  charge  their  servants  with  theft  the  moment 
a   thing   is    missed.     The   generous-hearted,    the 
magnanimous,  would    rather  suffer  loss    than  to 
prefer  a  charge,   at  least  up   to    the  very  point 
almost  of  its  being  a  certainty.     Two  years  ago  a 
man  charged  his  servant-girl  with  stealing  $200 ; 
she  was  sent  to  a  Pennsylvania  prison,  and  now 
it   comes    to   light   that    the    money   was   found 
where   he   had  hidden    it.     We  cannot   compute 
the  heart  agony  of  that  poor  girl,  her  mother, 
her  father,  the  brothers  and  sisters  at  home,  of 
other  kindred  and  friends.     Put  yourself  in  that 
girl's  place  for  a  few  brief  moments,  before   you 
make  a  charge  of  crime  against  any  human  be- 
ing. 

20 


306  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1401.  As  stones  in  some  soils  add  to  their  fer- 
tility, by  preventing   their  becoming   baked   and 
hard,  by  keeping  the  loam  more  moist,  preventing 
speedy  evaporation,  and  regulating  the  tempera- 
ture, as  well  as  by  their  more  or  less  disintegra- 
tion by  the  action  of  the  weather,  and  by  attri- 
tion, giving  out  atoms  of  nourishment  to  plants, 
in  the  form  of  iron,  or  lime,  or  other  elementary 
principles  ;  so  do  the  stones  of  life,  its  hard  lumps, 
its  rough  pathways,  serve  to  modify  human  char- 
acter, to  give  it  nourishment,  and  strength,  and 
vigor,  to   accomplish   higher  and   better   things, 
than  if  there  had  been   no  experience  of  them  ; 
so   that  even   the   hardships   of  life   have   their 
value. 

1402.  Consumption  is  almost  unknown  at  Sa- 
mara on  the  Tigris,  34°  north  latitude,  where  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  weather  are  great  and  frequent. 
Ucke  thinks  this  exemption  arises  from  the  fact, 
that  the  atmosphere  contains  a  greater  amount  of 
oxygen  than  at  any  other  station  where  observa- 
tions have  been  made  in  reference  to  this  point. 
At  Barnaul,  200  Ibs.   of   oxygen  are  breathed  in 
a  week ;    167  Ibs.  at  Seringapatam  ;    192  Ibs.  in 
London.     In    a  year,  2,385    Ibs.    of   oxygen   are 
breathed  in  Siberia;    2,326  in  Eastern  Europe; 
2,272  in  Central  Europe  ;  and  in  Western  Europe, 
including  Brussels  and  London,  2,305,  or  a  little 
over  a  ton  a  year.     A  high  barometer  indicates 
an  increased  amount  of  oxygen,  but  decreased  by 
humidity  and  a  high  temperature. 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  307 

1403.  In  shutting  a  door  sometimes  the  whole 
side  of  the  house  is  jarred,  and  the  ugly  noise 
can  be  heard  all  over  the  building  ;  put  a  single 
drop  of  oil  on  the  catch  or  latch,  and  it  can  be 
closed  with  an  infant's  hand,  without  noise  or  jar ; 
so  often,  in  common  life,  will  a  drop  of  moral  oil, 
a  kind,  a  deprecating,  a  good-natured  word,  cut 
short  off  a  great  variety  of  jars,  domestic,  social, 
and  business,  which  otherwise  would  end  in  cruel 
woundings  and  life-long  estrangements. 

1404.  In  1539  there  was  found  in  Sautse  Abbey, 
England,  "  a  bedstead  with  a  nett  for  knatts,"  a 
veritable  mosquito  bar ;  so  all  knowledge  of  com- 
forts and  conveniences  was  not  left  for  moderns 
to  invent  and  discover. 

1405.  As  steam  does  daily  in  Great  Britain  the 
work  of  a  hundred  million  of  men,  some  other 
means  must  be  devised  for  generating  power  when 
all  the  coal  is  burned  up.   There  are  several  sources 
of  inexhaustible  supply,  and  he  will  make  himself 
an  undying  fame  who  will  discover  the  means  of 
their  inexpensive  utilization  ;  the  wasted  power  of 
the  tides  of  the  ocean,  the  heat  in  the  sunshine, 
the  motor  power  of   electricity,  which,  although 
illimitable,  is   too   expensive  on  account  of    the 
costliness  of   zinc,  one  of   the  materials   for  its 
generation ;  the  wind-mills  and  the  water-wheels 
we  will  always  have  ;  gunpowder  and  nitro-glycer- 
ine  have  great  power,  which  might  be  made  use 
of  to  propel  machinery,  if  some  one  could  devise 
some  method  of  regulating  it. 


308  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

1406.  The  wounded  young  soldier  was   insen- 
sible,   the   surgeon  said  he  must  die.     Chaplain 
Moody  thought  that  if  he  could  be  aroused  even 
for  a  moment,  he  might  send  some  word  to  those 
at  home,  which  would  be  a  solace  to  them  for  all 
life  thereafter ;   and   in  a   loud  voice,  called    his 
given  name  :  "  William,   do  you  know  where  you 
are."     Turning  his  glazed  and  darkening  eye  in 
the  direction  of  the  sound,  he  replied,  "  Oh,  yes, 
I  'm  on  my  way  home  to  mother."     "  But  you  are 
dying  ;  have  you  any  word  to  send  to  her."    "  Tell 
mother  that  I  died  trusting  in  Christ."  "Anything 
more  ?  "     "  Yes,  tell  mother  and  sisters  to  be  sure 
and  meet  me  in   heaven,"  —  and  he   was   gone. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  Christian's  hope  is  an  ano- 
dyne in  death  ;  and  while  it  banishes  bodily  pain, 
it  rises  to  the  height  of  beatific  visions,  and  gives 
joys  unutterable  up  to  the  very  verge  of  exist- 
ence. 

1407.  The  author  once  advised  a  young  man 
who  seemed  to  be  in  the  last  stages  of  consump- 
tion to  leave  New  Orleans  and  spend  the  winter 
in  Canada  ;  he  had  but  little  hope  of  reaching  there 
alive,  but  he  succeeded,  and  followed  closely  some 
general  instructions.    Twenty  years  later  he  called 
in  New  York  on  a  European  excursion,  weighing 
190  Ibs.,  in  robust  health.    Before  the  war  a  young 
clock  tinker,  reduced  to  a   skeleton,  almost  too 
weak  to  walk,  was  constantly  coughing,  and  had 
wasting  night  sweats ;    he  was   advised   to  quit 
coughing  and  sell  newspapers.    Ten  years  later  he 


HEALTH  MAXIMS.  309 

called  and  reported  himself  well ;  he  had  procured 
the  office  of  carrying  the  newspaper  mail  twice  a 
day  from  the  railway  station  to  the  village,  a  dis- 
tance of  three  miles,  each  way,  which  he  did  on  foot ; 
he  had  no  overcoat,  so  he  was  advised  as  winter 
was  coming  to  walk  faster  and  faster,  and  if  he  got 
chilled  to  run  so  as  to  keep  him  warm  and  develop 
his  lungs  ;  some  of  the  country  people  thought  he 
was  crazy,  and  when  they  saw  him  in  sight  with 
his  load  of  papers,  they  would  commonly  exclaim, 
"  There  comes  the  crazy  tinker  ! "  He  was  not  crazy, 
he  was  trying  to  make  a  living  for  his  two  poor 
old  and  helpless  parents  ;  and  he  succeeded,  for  in 
the  intervals  of  mail  carrying,  he  would  follow  his 
tinkering  ;  by  sheer  force  of  will  he  resisted  cough 
and  kept  it  under.  A  young  man  called  for  ad- 
vice, he  had  drenching  night  sweats,  a  spiteful 
cough,  and  had  brought  up  at  different  times  sev- 
eral quarts  of  blood,  debilitating  him  greatly ;  he 
seemed  to  need  no  medicine,  but  was  advised  to 
go  to  the  Adirondacks,  camp  out,  hunt  and  fish, 
so  as  to  get  all  the  pure  air  possible,  day  and 
night,  as  well  as  to  get  up  also  a  good  appetite 
and  a  good  digestion  ;  for  all  consumptives  must 
have  air,  and  strength,  and  flesh.  In  three  months 
he  had  gained  twenty  pounds,  and  had  improved 
in  other  respects  very  decidedly,  but  his  friends 
persuaded  him  that  he  could  not  stand  a  northern 
winter.  He  went  to  Florida  and  returned  in  six 
months,  not  near  as  well  as  when  he  went  away. 
In  Samara,  on  the  Tigris,  34°  N.  L.,  consumption 
is  almost  unknown,  although  the  climate  is  very 


310  HOW  TO  LIVE  LONG. 

changeable.  These  narrations  are  given  as  facts 
coming  under  the  author's  personal  observation^ 
and  known  to  be  literally  true.  Every  sixth 
death  in  this  country  is  from  consumption  ;  every 
fourth  death,  that  is  about  one  fourth  of  all  who 
die,  perish  from  some  form  of  disease  of  the  air 
passages  ;  every  one  who  takes  up  this  book  has 
a  personal  interest  in  the  subject,  for  either  he  or 
some  near  friend  or  relative  will  fall  a  victim  to 
this  class  of  maladies.  The  points  which  suggest 
themselves  are  these  :  consumptives  must  have 
out-door  air,  every  breath  possible ;  it  must  be  a 
cool  air,  because  it  has  the  most  oxygen,  which  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  purification  of  the 
blood,  and  only  does  good  in  proportion  to  its 
amount ;  warm  air  and  moist  air  contain  but  little 
of  it,  hence  flat  warm  moist  countries  are  the 
worst  for  consumptives,  and  yet  they  crowd  down 
South  every  year  in  droves  only  to  die  ;  in  short, 
the  consumptive  must  have  a  cold  air,  a  dry  air, 
an  atmosphere  containing  the  greatest  proportion 
of  oxygen  ;  in  all  latitudes  which  are  habitable,, 
warm  air  is  so  full  of  moisture  that  it  displaces  the 
oxygen,  hence  does  not  feed  the  blood,  conse- 
quently always  debilitates  ;  hence  in  the  change- 
able climate  of  Samara,  with  its  large  supply  of 
oxygen,  consumption  is  almost  unknown. 

1408.  The  consumptive  imperatively  needs  more 
breath,  flesh,  and  strength,  and  these  are  best 
secured  by  a  sufficient  amount  of  daily  exercise 
out  of  doors  to  insure  a  vigorous  digestion  of 
nourishing  food. 


INDEX. 


Abroad,  268. 
Accidents,  742. 
Aches,  931-72- 
Acidity,  138. 
Adaptability,  273. 
Advice,  297. 
Age,  Average  159. 
Agree,  326. 
Ague,  1042. 
Aims,  793. 
Air,  296. 

Albert,  Prince,  594. 
Alcohol,  26,  888. 
Alcott,  748. 
Algoid,  1052. 
Alston,  803. 
Ambition,  319. 
Anecdote,  404-79-82,  etc. 
Anodyne,  504. 
Appetite,  304,  487,  874. 
Apples,  984. 
Apologies,  424. 
Apoplexy,  449~725- 
Armitage,  745. 
Arsenic,  525. 
Astor,  358-74,  446. 
Attentions,  16,  47,  343. 

B. 

Babies,  723,  1200. 
Bacon,  Lord,  928. 
Bacteria,  901. 

Bad  Boys,  401-54,  609,  993. 
Bad  Colds,  132. 
Baldness,  1115. 
Barnum,  753. 
Barometer,  792. 


Bear,  835. 

Beard,  464-68. 

Bed,  220. 

Bed-bugs,  1232. 

Beecher,  430. 

Beneficence,  74,  117. 

Bergh,  1364. 

Berkley,  933. 

Betting,  54-9,  231,499,  562,  etc. 

Bible,  1219-29. 

Bilious  878,  1176. 

Bismarck,  430,  607. 

Bitters,  64,  165,  750. 

Blindness,  600. 

Body  Heat,  44. 

Boils,  729. 

Bones,  488. 

Boorish,  254-61,  632. 

Boxing  Ears,  207. 

Brain,  155,  400,  564,  etc. 

Breakfast,  927. 

Brooding,  447-59. 

Brown,  374. 

Brown  Bread,  136. 

Bruises,  87,  392. 

Building,  987. 

Bulwer,  910. 

Bunyan,  342. 

Buried  alive,  224,  723. 

Burke,  145. 

Burn,  578. 

Butler,  168,  321. 

Byron,  429,  578. 


Calvin,  342. 
Campbell,  321. 
Candies,  669. 
Cannibals,  252. 


C. 


312  INDEX. 


Carbuncle,  729. 
Cardinals,  379. 
Carelessness,  769. 
Carlisle,  409-46. 
Capital,  505. 
Case,  1094. 
Cavour,  430. 
Cellars,  366,  650. 
Cervantes,  321. 
Change  Cloth,  1023. 
Chapped  Hands,  1016. 
Character,  833. 
Charcoal,  673. 
Cheerfulness,  911-45,  1208. 
Chest,  864. 
Chilblains,  1029. 
Childhood,  1013. 
Children,  161-85. 
Chills,  143. 
Chloral,  642. 
Choking,  262. 
Churches,  420,  515. 
Cisterns,  457. 
Cities,  272. 
Civilization,  293. 
Clay,  Henry,  592. 
Cleanliness*  39,  209,  767,  1041. 
Clergymen,  446,  948. 
Clothing,  451. 
Coffee,  473,  855. 
Coleridge,  578,  858. 
Colds,  57-60,  114,  etc. 
Combe,  743. 
Comforts,  93,  149,  etc. 
Comparisons,  500-3-14. 
Compensations,  974. 
Competitions,  259. 
Compress,  557,  747. 
Constitution,  890. 
Consumption,  113-97,218,311- 

15-53.  677,  1402-7. 
Contagion,  1112. 
Contentment,  465. 
Convalescence,  306. 
Convulsions,  449. 
Corns,  290,  863. 
Corpulency,  876,  1243. 
Costive,  160. 

Cough,  201-21-86,  325,  etc. 
Cowell,  492. 


Cribbing,  277. 

Crime  prevented,  1367. 

Cuts,  392. 

D. 

Damp  Feet,  730. 

David,  King,  358,  440,  965. 

Death,  Easy,  913. 

Debt,  90,  360-98,  671,  894,  925. 

Desserts,  612,  1192. 

Diarrhcea,  614. 

Digestion,  875,  1070. 

Disagreeable,  515. 

Discipline,  450. 

Disease,  809. 

Disinfectants,  364. 

Disraeli,  91,  409,  910. 

Doing  Good,  444,  1037. 

Domestic,  1061- 

Drainage,  248,  368,  523. 

Draper,  409,  740,  1 105. 

Dreaming,  173. 

Dress,  140,  803,  852. 

Drew,  358. 

Drinking,  275,  1040,  1258. 

Drops  of  Oil,  1403. 

Drowning,  29,  930,  91. 

Drudgery,  1201. 

Drunkards,  1172. 

Dutchman,  850. 

Dying,  9,  472-80,  533,  593,  935- 

44-56. 
Dyspepsia,  153-83, 274,  302,  etc. 

E. 

Ear,  232-95,  432,  102 1. 

Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  1364. 

Early  Rising,  976. 

Earnings,  1379. 

Eating,  236-53-71-82,  etc. 

Education,  7,  768,  1381,  1386. 

Eggs,  986,  1372. 

"  Ego,"  227. 

"  Eight  to  16,"  1231. 

Enterprise,  399. 

Enunciation,  1046. 

Epilepsy,  449. 

Erasmus,  1045. 

Eruptions,  118,  539,  638. 


INDEX. 


313 


Erysipelas,  1377. 

Exaggeration,  178. 

Excuses,  1044. 

Exercise,  31,  115,214,316-24- 

45-52,  etc. 
Exposures,  458. 
Eyes,  232-76-95,  432,  536,  652, 

738- 

G. 

Gabriel,  1347. 
Genius,  641,  705. 
Germs,  498,  636. 
Girls,  481. 
Gloomy,  937. 
Gold,  1382. 
Goldsmith,  321. 
Good  Living,  610. 
Gout,  836,  1377. 
Governing,  294. 
Graham,  748. 

Grant,  General,  901,  1026,  1295. 
Grape  Wine,  86,  95. 
Gravel,  1318. 
Greatest,  444. 
Greatness,  943. 
Greeting,  850. 
Growing  Old,  313. 
Growl,  1064. 
Gymnastics,  367. 

H. 

Habit,  145,  667,  1350. 

Hair  Dye,  1351. 

Hall,  Robert,  615. 

Hallucination,  1374. 

Happiness,  76,  200,  408-55,  76. 

Hardship,  1361. 

Hard  Study,  950. 

Harshness,  662. 

Hastings,  455. 

Headache,  1328. 

Health,  914. 

Heart,  91,  397,  960. 

Hearty  Suppers,  314. 

Heaven,  679. 

Height,  105. 

Hemorrhage,  1057. 

Henry,  409,  1045. 


Hereditary,  269,  1361. 
Heredity,  1370. 
Herodotus,  579. 
Herschell,  577. 
Hippocrates,  519. 
Hives,  538. 
Hobbies,  812. 
Home,  1026. 
Horn,  John,  1396. 
Horseback,  170. 
Horseflesh,  680. 
Hospitals,  830,  1 146. 
Housekeeper,  148. 
House  Location,  273. 
Humanity,  75. 
Humboldt,  597. 
Hume,  593. 
Huntington,  415. 
Hurry,  359,  547. 
Husbands,  813,  1064. 
Hydrophobia,  198,  219,  431. 

I. 

Ice,  380,  1234. 

Ice  Cream,  109,  380. 

Ideas,  582. 

Identity,  1353. 

Idleness,  211,  718,  989. 

Immortality,  977,  1051,  1341. 

Impatience,  230. 

Income,  501. 

Incurable,  1175. 

Indiscretions,  386. 

Industry,  239. 

Infants,  93,  255. 

Inheritance,  454. 

Insanity,  65,  168,  459,  536,  etc. 

Insects,  882. 

Instinct,  332,  706,  1195. 

Insurance,  78. 

Inunction,  1109. 

Itch,  1352. 

J- 

Janin,  Jules,  482. 
Job,  378. 

Johnson,  371,  409. 
Judson,  1109. 


314 


INDEX. 


Keats,  578. 

Kindness,  99,  423,  829. 
King,  1139. 
Kitchen,  650. 
Kneading,  1113. 
Koumys,  1369. 


Labor,  917. 

Last  Sickness,  1239. 

Late  Dinners,  1290. 

Lead  Colic,  1359. 

Leanness,  483. 

Letters,  103,  410-21-35,938-49. 

Liberty,  1031. 

Life  Average,  340,  888. 

Life  Heat,  226. 

Life  Mistakes,  266. 

Lifetime,  103-10-59,  256. 

Life  Work,  417. 

Lightning,  114. 

Lincoln,  910,  1026. 

Linnaeus,  761. 

Liver,  877,  1113-76. 

Livingstone,  1139. 

Longevity,  131,  338-58,  657. 

Longfellow,  439. 

Lunch,  1118. 

Lyell,  446,  777- 

Lying,  853. 

M. 

Macnish,  769. 
Mansfield,  1054. 
Marlboro',  492. 
Married    Life,   63-8,   240,    512, 

599,  805,  1065,  1104,  1252. 
Marshall,  446. 
McFlimsey,  1169. 
Meanness,  492. 
Measures,  863. 
Microscope,  1058. 
Milk,  1156. 
Milton,  349,  943. 
Mind  and  Body,  7. 
Mind  Maladies,  70. 
Miner,  719. 
Money,  655,  900. 


Money  Lending,  647,  924. 
Money  Made,  545,  1 133. 
Moodiness,  1020. 
Morrison,  1139. 
Morse,  293. 
Moses,  464. 
Mothers,  633,  790. 
Motives,  356-61. 
Music,  676,  965. 

N. 

Napoleon,  358,  429,  943. 
Nervous,  685,  708. 
Neuralgia,  926. 
New  Houses,  1383. 
Newton,  577,  1324. 
Night  Air,  310-37-1099. 
"  No,"  438,  646. 
Novels,  832. 
Nursing,  633. 

O. 

Oatmeal,  1124. 
Odors,  189. 
"Of  course,"  518. 
Oil,  1109. 

Old  Age,   313,   403-6-9-25-27, 
604,  754,  777»958,  1015,  no8. 
Old  Folks,  848-51. 
Old  Maids,  531. 
Onions,  265,  1158-68. 
Open  Fires,  1 1 10. 
Otway,  321. 
Overwork,  134. 
Oysters,  350. 
Ozone,  367. 

P. 

Pain,  931-72,  1103. 

Paintings,  1391. 

Pairs,  992. 

Palmerston,  358,  434,  1026. 

Pangs,  230. 

Paradise,  334. 

Parental,  1395. 

Pasteur,  760. 

Peabody,  1026. 

Penn,  342. 


INDEX. 


315 


Perseverance,  322. 
Persistence,  1364. 
Perspiration,  174,  814. 
Philosophical,  1304. 
Physicians,  96,   242,    775,   88 1, 

932. 

Physiological  Mathematics,  1384. 
Physiology,  507. 
Piles,  289. 
Plain  People,  516. 
Plants,  445,  595,  656 
Plodders,  1193. 
Pneumonia,  394,  735,  822. 
Polishing,  1230. 
Politeness,  107,  267. 
Poor  Boy,  1376. 
Positive,  175,  181. 
Poultice,  441. 
Poverty,  1203. 
Prayer,  408. 
Presentiments,  1233. 
Prince  Albert,  594. 
Proverbs,  551. 
Providence,  1342. 
Pulse,  157-82-90-96-225,  1353. 

Q- 

Quaker  Dairies,  1357. 

"  Queen  Bess,"  358,  928,  1045. 

Quenching  Thirst,  1393. 

R. 

Raleigh,  342. 

Rats,  668. 

Raw  Food,  1018. 

Recognition,  144,  308. 

Recreation,  170. 

Religion,  10,  147. 

Remedies,  193,  536. 

Remorse,  260,  1244. 

Retiring,   133-77,    213-85,  407, 

700. 

Resources,  865. 
Rest,  169-71,  239,  935. 
Rheumatism,  836. 
Rhizopod,  519. 
Rich,  432. 
Risks,  896. 
Rock  me,  168. 


Rothschild,  358. 

Rubbers,  584. 

Ruts,  229,  791,  812,  1190-94. 

S. 

Sabbath,  994. 
Salaries,  2,  84,  461,  764. 
Salt,  1210. 

Sanitation,  368,  791,  870,  970. 
Sap,  596. 
Saving  Life,  1396. 
Schlieman,  609. 
School-room,  969. 
Scott,  Sir  W.,  593,  1026. 
Scudder,  1139. 
Security,  925. 
Sedentary,  iioo. 
Self-made,  1296. 
Self-respect,  80 1. 
Servants,  934. 
Shakespeare,  928,  1042. 
Shawls,  412,  1164. 
Shelley,  578. 
Sickness,  590,  812,  895. 
Sitting,  158. 
Skating,  1027. 
Slander,  493,  867. 
Slang,  456,  1307. 
Slaveries,  542. 
Sleep,  17,  28,  66,  69,  119-32-50, 

etc. 

Sleepless,  1162-79-91. 
Slighted,  1012. 
Small-pox,  191,  770,  953. 
Smoking,  486,  600. 
Snow,  445,  86 1. 
Soldier,  1406. 
Son's  Love,  1394. 
Soothing,  452-63-66. 
Sores,  87,  552. 
Sorrow,  746. 
Spare  Beds,  1298. 
Speakers,  73. 
Specific,  1019. 
Speed,  351. 
Splinters,  469. 
Spores,  1052. 
Sprains,  291. 
Spring  Fevers,  862. 
Stairs,  777. 


3l6  INDEX. 


Stammering,  898. 

Stewarts,  374,  446. 

Stimulants,  83,  176,  602-33-42. 

Stimulus,  321-415. 

Stings,  1311., 

Stomach,  837. 

Stones  and  Troubles,  1401. 

Strength,  79. 

Students,  1129-39. 

Study,  238,  342,  400,  566. 

St.  Vitus,  449. 

Success,  77,  85,  371-76. 

Suicide,  470-96,  910-16-42. 

Sunshine,  736-96,  802,  1050-97. 

Sunstroke,  449. 

Suspicions,  151. 

Sweetmeats,  1193. 

Symptoms,  287,  613. 

System,  607. 

T. 

Tainted  Meat,  1390. 

Taken  away,  1347. 

Talents,  545,  705,  920. 

Talking,  624. 

Talleyrand,  1043,  J356- 

Taming,  463-66. 

Tantrums,  405. 

Tar  Water,  933. 

Tea,  203,  1360. 

Teachers,  763,  963. 

Teeth,  222-28-32,  300,  402,  511, 

726,  etc. 
Temper,  130. 
Temperance,  165,  753. 
Temple,  440. 
Thermometers,  535. 
Thinkers,  579. 
Three-score,  409. 
Throat,  243,  674,  747. 
Timbs,  417. 
Time,  Saving,  245. 
Tobacco,  666. 
Tonic,  1392. 
Trades  Unions,  1358. 
Transfusion,  1378. 
Transmigration,  683. 
Travel,  432,  629,  1177. 
Trouble,  567,  1301. 
Truthfulness,  164,  204. 


U. 


Unappreciated,  787,  842,  904. 
Uncle  Sam,  887. 

V. 

Vaccination,  192,  758. 
Vanderbilt,  358-74,  446. 
Vanity,  227. 
Ventilation,  23,  249-96,  489,  643. 

788,  830,  1153. 
Victoria,  161,  265. 

W. 

Walking,  156,  270-5,  1114. 

Wall  Paper,  1346. 

Walpole,  532. 

Warmth,  1144. 

Warts,  1368. 

Washington,  793. 

Wash  Tub,  131. 

Waste,  154. 

Watch,  1256. 

Water,  37,  278,  300-9-70. 

Water,  Cold,  1075. 

Water  Cure,  557. 

Water,  Pure,  1039. 

Water  Supply,  465,  1320. 

Water,  Warm,  1175. 

Weary,  935. 

Weather,  1248. 

Weight,  6,  210-50-57,  998. 

Wellington,  754,  915. 

Wesley,  951. 

Wet  Nurse,  180. 

Whittier,  409. 

Wines,  292,  448,  745. 

Wives,  813,  918,  looo. 

Words,  624,  662. 

Wordsworth,  858. 

Working,  450,  981-96,  1003. 

Worries,  455,  727,  1149. 

Worthies,  141. 

Wounds,  365-92,  469,  636,  872. 

Writer's  Cramp,  1308. 

Writing,  195,  215-23-37-44. 

Y. 

Young  Men,  681-86. 


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